McLaren F1 Team CEO Zak Brown has hit back at Otmar Szafnauer for comments the Team Principal of the BWT Alpine F1 Team made about Oscar Piastri.
Szafnauer criticised Piastri earlier this week after the Australian opted not to commit to a drive with Alpine in 2023 in favour of a possible move to McLaren. The American said he had hoped Piastri ‘had a bit more integrity’ and would honour his contract with Alpine rather than leaving for one of their biggest rivals.
Brown dismissed the comments and, although he does not know what happened between the relationship between Alpine and Piastri, he does not feel Szafnauer is in a position to comment bearing in mind he has been part of controversy in recent years himself.
“Ultimately I don’t know any of the details between that relationship, so I think it would be unfair for me to take a position either way because I simply don’t know,” said Brown to Sky Sports.
“But judging by recent times, the way Fernando [Alonso] has departed and caught Otmar by surprise, and not too long ago he is the recipient of a €400,000 fine and 15 points [fined], I’m not sure he comes with the highest level of credibility and making accusations around ethics.”
Brown’s comments relate to Szafnauer’s time with the Racing Point F1 Team, when they were deemed to have illegally designed brake ducts that were the intellectual property of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and earned them a fifteen-point penalty in the Constructors’ Championship as well as a substantial financial penalty.
The dispute over Piastri’s future should be decided next week when the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) make their decision to whether Alpine or McLaren have the legitimate contract in place with the twenty-one-year-old.
