Piastri found himself at the centre of a long-running contract saga last summer, with McLaren eventually 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:winning a court battle to sign ไthe highly-rated 21-year-old from und෴er Alpine’s nose. 

Alpine felt Piastri had a moral obligation - as well as a binding agreement - to race for the team in 2023 and even went as far as announcing the Australian in their 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:driver line-up in place of the departing168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Fernando Alonso. 

But F1’s Contract Recognition Board ruled in McLaren’s favour amid the dispute with Alpine, paving the way for Piastri to replace 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Daniel Ricciardo and become teammates with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lando Norris. 

The situation led Alpine F1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer to call Piastri’s integrity into q🥃uestion after it em♋erg👍ed he had signed a contract with McLaren. 

But Piastri’s manager and former Red Bull🧔 driver Webber has moved to dismiss Alpine’s claims. 

"He was pretty relaxed, actually," Webber told Speedcafe.

"O𝓀f course, he was, ironically, showing as much loyalty as he could do under the circumstances, because he was w𒅌aiting for answers. 

"He was the one who was the most loyal out of the whole situation. All the other shareholders and people that have been there since he's been eight years old were certainly a lot less pꦫatien🍌t. 

"Oscar was keen to be as loyaඣl as possible, and it still was pretty challenging [regarding] whatꦬ the future was looking like.

"But then, obviously, McLaren said they wanted to make a change. Oscar ওwas available, and that's something which we had to move pretty quick on.”

McLaren showed they are prepared to take ‘huge risk’ 

Despite winning three consecutive titles - including F3 and F2 - in a sparkling junior career, Piastri was forced to spend 2022 on the sidelines in a reserve driver role for Alpine, after missing out on a full-time F🀅1 seat. 

Webber praised McLaren for being “prepared to take a huge risk” by handing Piastr💞i his F1 debut♕.

"They were prepared to tak🀅e a huge risk on Oscar, which was tremendous," W🐠ebber explained.

"They had done [the same] with Lando [Norris], they had done to a degree with Carlos [Sainz],ꦛ and obviously Lewis [Hamilton, being brought in] under Ron Dennis, that took a huge risk with him. 

"So it was a great opportunity for Osca♛r to get going but, of course, he was mindful of replacing Daniel, absolutely, [but] if it wasn't him it would have been someone else.

"[Oscar] knows he should have been racing this year. That's the big kil꧟ler here, that he did a few days [of] testing, but racing drivers want to race and that was really hurting Oscar this year."