Alpine to make decision on Alonso/Piastri by British GP

Alpine is prepared to wait until around the British Grand Prix to decide if it wants to retain Fernando Alonso or promote Oscar Piastri to a Formula 1 seat.

As it stands, the French outfit only has Esteban Ocon contracted for next year but is currently reviewing who it wants to partner the one-time grand prix winner.

Alonso, who made a successful return to F1 in 2021 after a two-year spell away, is out of contract at the end of the season, but has made no secret to his desire to stay on the grid.

The two-time world champion faces competition from Alpine reserve driver Piastri, who despite winning back-to-back F2 and F3 titles has been forced to watch from the sidelines this year.

Piastri is clear he is targeting an F1 seat for 2023, putting pressure on Alpine to make a call on his immediate future.

Asked if there was a specific timeframe for when Alpine will decide who race alongside Ocon in 2023, Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer believed an announcement would be made around mid-July.

“We haven’t thought that through yet, because it’s a little bit early,” Szafnauer said, as quoted by Motorsport.com. “But around Silverstone we will probably be talking about it.”

Should Alpine elect to keep hold of Alonso for next year, it is suggested the team could look to loan Piastri out to a rival outfit.

Williams is understood to be at the front of the queue, with speculation Piastri could replace Nicholas Latifi before the end of the current campaign amid his struggle to match team-mate Alex Albon’s pace.

While aware of the rumours, Szafnauer insisted there has been no talks with Williams over the matter, but he is willing to help Piastri find an opportunity to gain more milage.

“I haven’t considered that deeply yet,” Szafnauer