The Australian was left fuming after being forced off the road by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto while attempting to lap him during an intense battle with teammate Lando Norris for the lead of the race, stating over team radio: “Alpine still manages to find a way to f*** me over all these years later.”
Piastri’s final qualifying run on Saturday was also affected by an Alpine, with Pierre Gasly’s late-session spin triggering yellow flags and denying Piastri a final shot at beating Norris’s pole time.
Speaking ahead of the British Grand Prix, Piastri explained the frustration behind the remark and said it was merely a coincidence that both incidents across the weekend involved cars from his former team.
“The comments on the radio, it was just the kind of coincidence that qualifying was obviously an Alpine and then I kind of got impeded by both in the race to an extent,” he said. “So it was more just a coincidence.”
Piastri’s comment, which wasn’t broadcast on the main world feed but emerged post-race, made headlines due to his history with Alpine.
“alpine still find a way to fuck me up all these years later huh” OSCAR 💀 pic.twitter.com/YTPKfiNvM6
— jay (@landoscrs) June 29, 2025
The Melbourne driver was a member of Alpine’s junior academy and served as the team’s reserve driver in 2022, before turning down a full-time seat in favour of signing with McLaren — a move that triggered a contract dispute ultimately resolved in McLaren’s favour.
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That decision has paid off handsomely. Since joining McLaren, Piastri has claimed seven Grand Prix victories, four pole positions, 19 podiums and 605 points across his first 57 races with the Woking-based team.
In comparison, Alpine has managed just four podium finishes and 196 points in that same period, with no wins or poles to its name. The team is currently last in the 2025 Constructors’ Championship.
Asked if moments like Austria ever prompt him to reflect on his choice or consider what might have been with Alpine, Piastri was quick to shut it down.
“I’ve not really thought about it much,” he said. “Obviously, when I joined Formula 1, there were the comparisons in the directions that each team has taken.
“But now, honestly, I haven’t thought about it for over 12 months, probably.”
Piastri’s 2025 form has been standout — five of his seven career victories have come this season, and he currently leads the Drivers’ Championship by 15 points over Norris.
He expects that battle to continue, both this weekend at Silverstone and for the remainder of the season.
“I think it is a very tight battle and I think I think it will be for the rest of the year,” Piastri added. “Last weekend I was happy with my pace, especially on Sunday, but I expect it to ebb and flow.”
“I think the weekends where either of us put our absolute best forward, it’s probably enough for either of us to win.
“It’s just that doing that and finding 100 percent of your potential instead of 99 or 99-and-a-half is very, very difficult. So I think that’s been the difference so far, probably this year.
“But I think we’re very, very evenly matched, and on our good days, either of us are very hard to beat.”
Practice for the British Grand Prix begins tonight at 9:30pm AEST (12:30pm local time).
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