Alpine promotes driver Oscar Piastri to Formula One seat

LONDON (AP) — Alpine says it has promoted Australian reserve driver Oscar Piastri into the Formula One seat that opened a day earlier on Fernando Alonso’s surprise announcement that he’s leaving at the end of the season. Alonso has signed a multi-year deal with Aston Martin, and Alpine quickly said it would promote its 21-year-old young talent to race alongside Esteban Ocon in 2023. There was no comment in the Alpine news release from Piastri and the current F2 champion had not mentioned the promotion on his social media platforms. There has been speculation that Piastri was working on a better deal with another team, but Alpine holds his contract.