[orchestral strings playing]
[Szafnauer] I started with a medium. Should I do the large as well,
just in case we stop for coffee and a croissant?
Can one of you guys maybe go down and get, like, a fancy coffee?
A skinny cappuccino with a bit of cinnamon on top, please.
I like ironing about as much as I like cutting the grass.
I have to spend a lot of time to get it perfect.
My name is Otmar Szafnauer,
and I'm the team principal of the BWT Alpine Formula 1 team,
the only French team on the grid.
[exhales] Blue's my color.
I was the previous team principal at Aston Martin.
It wasn't easy to walk away,
but the owner definitely has very high expectations.
[Lawrence Stroll] Fifteen minutes for the whole thing. Fire away.
I think the atmosphere was changing into more pressure,
less fun, less achievement,
and it didn't make sense for me to stay.
We're done.
Yeah. Not quite right. Not quite right.
It was fortuitous that, weeks after I'd left,
Alpine had a need as well.
You know, it's a little bit like the first day of school.
We finished fifth last year.
We were lacking, uh, overall management.
We didn't have a team principal.
Otmar has a lot of skills that could serve our ambitions.
Ticks all the boxes.
[Szafnauer] Bit of zinc, vitamin D.
All washed down with beetroot juice.
Magnifique.
- [intense music playing] - [chuckles]
[Szafnauer] I believe I can lead Alpine back to winning ways,
but there's no hiding.
The stopwatch tells you exactly how well you've done,
and I really like that.
Merci beaucoup. Merci beaucoup.
[Szafnauer] Bonjour.
Je m'appelle Otmar.
- [wheel gun whirring] - [engine roaring]
[traditional French music playing]
[indistinct chatter in French]
[fan] "To Frederic," I mean, "To Fred," please, if you can do that.
That one, the "magic."
- [Alonso] "To Fred" as well? - [fan] Yeah, it's for me again.
And the last one.
I know I'm annoying, Fernando. It's Monaco.
Oh no, it's Abu Dhabi 2017.
- [Alonso] Okay, thanks. - [fan] Thanks, Fernando.
And have a good season!
- [intense music playing] - [bustling chatter]
[team member in English] Really excited.
The Alpine team is, uh, the former Renault team.
We have 45 plus years of presence in F1.
We've been Alpine since last year.
It has a French DNA.
You must feel it.
If you don't, there's something wrong.
- [Szafnauer] Hey, buddy, You well? - You alright?
Good to see you.
Hi, Otmar. How are you?
[Szafnauer] I met you in the pizza joint. How're you?
[Rossi] It's hard not to get along with Otmar.
He's easygoing, um,
immensely knowledgeable.
- [Alonso] How are you? - [Szafnauer] You well?
Good. Good.
- Nice to see you. - Looking forward to it.
He's a smooth operator in a good sense of the way.
He knows how to manage difficult people.
Caps. Do we have caps?
- I haven't seen any, no. - No? We don't have them here?
We need cap?
[indistinct response]
As a team principal, you have to adapt your style
to the, uh, personalities that you're working with.
You know, uh, Fernando has a reputation of being a hothead.
[Alonso] What a stupid guy!
[Rosberg] Alonso's brilliant at defending. What a great job he did there.
[Alonso] Guys, I hope you enjoyed the show.
[Szafnauer] He can be impatient, but he is very experienced,
two-time World Champion,
and driven to perform to the best of his ability on track.
The tricky bit is, uh, to get him to become more of a team player.
Very important that I look good.
[chuckles]
I need to look young.
[in French] More than Esteban.
[makeup artist] No problem.
[in English] Red lips and everything.
[Ocon in French] More for him, he has wrinkles as well.
[makeup artist] Careful, he wont be the villain like that.
[in English] What's that?
- [Ocon] "Les rides" is the... - Wrinkles.
Ah. Yeah, yeah, yes. [chuckles]
- Oui, oui, oui. - [all chuckle]
[makeup artist] Oui, oui, oui.
[Alonso] We are very selfish, drivers in general,
but, um, in Formula 1,
there has to be always good characters and... and bad ones
and heroes and antiheroes.
So I am on... on the dark side.
[makeup artist] You're ready.
[sighs] I feel good.
Now I can be in front of the TV.
[Ocon in French] It's cool, no? I like it.
They are heavy though.
Everything is... it's all embroidered.
It used to be with stickers.
[in English] Esteban has great potential.
He's a youngster that's very ambitious and immensely talented.
[Ocon] Otmar is a great asset for us.
He's gonna bring a lot of his expertise from his previous teams,
so that it's very exciting.
[Szafnauer] I think I can help.
- [Alonso] You have to. - [Szafnauer] I will. Don't you worry.
- [indistinct announcement] - Don't you worry.
[team member] In some really good ways.
[Alonso] Yeah, yeah.
Esteban has, uh, a few more years on his contract,
Fernando's in... in his last year,
and we'll look to future-proof
to make sure that we continue with a good, strong driver lineup.
And a big key element of my plan is our reserve driver.
[presenter] Please, under your big applause,
Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, and Oscar Piastri.
Oscar Piastri most recently won the F2 Championship.
He's very strong, uh, very fast.
We've invested maybe $4 million in his preparation for Formula 1.
It's a lot of money.
But, uh, I think Oscar is a future world champion.
I was with the team in Qatar when... when Fernando finished on the podium,
so, you know, I've experienced the joy and the podium from the other side,
and, yeah, I wanna try and be able to experience that myself too.
Enjoy your season. Thank you very much.
Please applaud for those incredible drivers.
[audience applause]
Now the focus is to get Alpine fourth in this year's Championship...
[photographer] Big smiles. That's good. Thank you.
...because your prize money is significantly higher than finishing fifth.
[photographer] That's good. Both to me.
Double-digit millions.
I have to steer the ship in the right direction
to keep the team going, and I think we've got a good chance.
[dramatic music builds to climax]
[intense stinger]
[intense music playing]
[commentator 1] Lewis Hamilton under pressure from Alonso in the Alpine.
[Loos] Nice work, mate. Hamilton 0.7 behind.
[Peckett] Okay, mate, well done. P8.
[Ocon] Very good, guys.
- [Peckett] Well driven by you as well. - Copy.
This weekend we were flying.
[Loos] Zhou going slow ahead of you. He has an issue.
Pace is very good. Keep it up.
[Alonso] I have more as well.
- Go on. - Come on!
[Loos] Nice work, mate. That's P7.
[Peckett] P10. Another point on the board.
[Alonso] Good job, guys. Good points.
[team cheering]
[commentator 2] Alpine move up to 5th in the Constructors' Championship,
pushing Alfa Romeo down to sixth.
- Well done. - Good job.
[Szafnauer] Alpine's a team on the ascendancy.
Well done.
We're getting better and better over the season.
[commentator 1] Esteban Ocon's going for it.
Dive down the inside, goes through.
[Peckett] Well done.
- [Ocon] Yes! [chuckles] - [Peckett] And that's the checkered flag.
P5. Well done. Very good indeed.
And Fernando, P10.
Good for our Championship order.
[Ocon] Yes. Awesome job, guys.
[crowd cheering]
[commentator 2] That result brings Alpine and McLaren together in the Championship,
tied on 81 points each.
[Ocon] It's the perfect weekend, I think, for us.
There's nothing better we could have done.
We are going to France with confidence.
[Brown] It's gonna be extremely close this year.
Fourth is... is still in play,
so we're gonna give it all we've got until the checkered flag.
[intense stinger]
[upbeat music playing]
- [server 1 in French] Croissant for you? - No, thank you.
- [man 1] Bonjour! - [man 2] Bonjour. Ça va?
[in English] Oh! This is a nice station.
[server 2] Thank you. Enjoy.
[in French] I need to avoid that, but that's kind of you.
- [server 2] Pain au chocolat? - No, thank you.
[server 1 in English] Enjoy your day. See you.
[Tsunoda] Je m'appelle Yuki. Merci.
[commentator 1] It's a Sunday afternoon in the south of France.
Welcome along to the French Grand Prix here in the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Morning. How are you guys? All good?
Is it up here to the paddock?
What time's the briefing?
- About 20 minutes ago. - Oh!
It's like were shooting an athletic commercial of some sort.
[energetic music playing]
[Norris] Just jogging. Morning jog.
[Szafnauer] Morning. Nice to meet you.
We used to be colleagues, and we're still friends.
- [all chuckle] - [Szafnauer] That's a rarity.
[team member] Bonjour. Good morning.
[Szafnauer] Bonjour.
[Ricciardo] Scusa.
[Norris] Sorry.
[Brown] Sorry to get you out of bed.
You look like you're still asleep.
- [Norris] No. I'm in. I'm good to go. - [Brown] Yeah?
[Seidl] Okay. Good morning, everyone.
[Brown] We're obviously doing everything we can to beat Alpine.
They're doing everything they can to beat us.
France is a big race for us.
Not only is at the home race for the entire team,
but we gotta beat McLaren.
Have fun.
Yeah, we gotta make sure that we, uh... we win that battle.
[dramatic stinger]
[crowd cheering]
[Szafnauer] All good?
No problems. Engine, tires, everything's good.
All calm. Super calm.
[commentator 2] On the grid, it's Lando fifth,
Alonso seventh,
Daniel Ricciardo is ninth.
and Esteban Ocon in tenth.
[Szafnauer] It'd be really frustrating to end up fifth again.
It's a lot of pressure, but I need to deliver.
If we get a good start, good first lap, points are possible.
It's a long race.
I'm confident.
Let's get the McLarens
and everyone else.
[Peckett] Last car is on the grid.
[intense music playing]
[engineer] Thirty seconds to go.
[Loos] Twenty.
[Peckett] Ten.
[engineer] Five seconds to go.
[Ricciardo] Let's have a fucking good one.
[intense music building]
[engines roaring]
[team cheering]
[commentator 1] Fernando Alonso swooping around the outside
and up into fourth place and ahead of Lando Norris.
[indistinct chatter]
[Loos] Nice job, mate.
[engineer] Keep pushing.
[Peckett] Norris and Ricciardo in front of you.
Let's push up, please.
[dramatic music intensifies]
[parts crunching]
[Ocon] Contact with Tsunoda.
[Tsunoda] Ah!
I got hit, uh, from behind.
[Ocon] He didn't give me any space.
[Peckett] Okay, so we have a five-second penalty
for the collision with Tsunoda.
Five-second penalty.
[engineer] We are doing a good job compared to the cars behind.
Ocon has a five-second penalty.
- [Lando] Yeah, all good. - [engineer] All good.
[Peckett] Okay, let's box now, please.
[commentator 1] The crew won't be able to work on the car for five seconds,
and then they can get going.
[Ocon breathing heavily]
[wheel gun whirring]
[Ocon] Who has passed me?
[Peckett] Sainz, Norris, and Ricciardo in front.
Currently we're P11.
Head down. Head down.
[dramatic music playing]
[commentator 1] Fernando Alonso is sixth
with Norris and Ricciardo running seventh and eighth.
[Loos] Norris putting in some green sectors now,
so it seems like he's picking up the pace.
[Alonso] Okay. It's a long race.
If they want to fight, they will pay the price.
[commentator 3] Very close, Alonso to Norris, Norris to Ricciardo.
[Loos] Norris, one second behind at the moment.
[Alonso] Yeah, no problem.
I want them very close to me.
[commentator 3] Those two McLarens being played with by Fernando Alonso.
And that's helping Ocon close up and pressure Ricciardo.
[Peckett] The aim is to get past Ricciardo.
[Stallard] Ocon, 0.9 behind.
[Ricciardo] Okay.
[Stallard] 0.8.
[Ricciardo] Doing what I can.
[Peckett] Okay, mate, let's keep the pressure on him. Keep pushing.
[Stallard] Ocon's been told to attack. Gap 0.5.
[Peckett] That's good. Let's push on.
- [Peckett] Nice one. - [team cheering]
[Ricciardo] I fucking tried.
[Stallard] Yeah. Sure.
[commentator 2] Despite that five-second penalty, Ocon's ahead,
thanks to some brilliant defensive work from Fernando Alonso.
[commentator 2] Fernando Alonso for Alpine comes home in sixth,
ahead of Lando Norris in the McLaren.
Esteban Ocon will finish eighth.
[Ocon] Yes! That feels like a win today.
[team cheering]
[commentator 2] Incredible teamwork from Alpine this weekend.
They've snatched fourth from McLaren in the Constructors'.
[Alonso] Good job, guys. Another top six.
[Loos] Thank you, mate. Very well managed.
[Peckett] Nicely driven.
[Ocon] Copy that. Good job. Good job.
[Peckett] Good result for the team.
[scattered applause]
[engineer] Okay, mate, you're quiet. I hope you're still there?
[Norris] Struggled today, I guess.
[Stallard] Keep trucking.
It was, uh, a good battle out there.
[Ricciardo] Okay.
[Alonso] We played the race like a chess game, you know,
and, uh, we tried to position the McLarens close to us
and tried to have some clean air in front.
I did 350 races. I know what I'm doing sometimes.
Not bad, huh?
- Not bad. - [Ocon] Not bad.
- Well done. - Thank you.
See? It was a good weekend, all weekend.
- We've got to repeat it now. - Yeah.
Whatever it was, we gotta repeat it. Just keep going.
It feels great to be fourth in the Constructors' Championship
after our home race in France.
Brilliant.
Yeah, really, really good.
Otmar brought exactly what I wanted.
The bond between the people in the team
that I was longing for and we were missing,
so, uh, I'm immensely satisfied.
Losing to Otmar, um,
you know, it doesn't feel good at the end if you don't come out on top.
[birds tweeting]
[Szafnauer] No, it... it's nice.
[Rossi] Once sip is gonna change my world.
Cheers, Laurent. It's great. It's really great. Really enjoy it.
And, uh...
I think the team is quite happy as well.
[Szafnauer] We should just keep going.
It's a very competitive landscape that we work in,
but the more competitive,
the more rewarding when we do it.
- I mean, the trajectory is good. - Yes.
- It's going up. - Yes, yes.
[Szafnauer] Fernando's, at 41 years old, top of his game. Brilliant.
Doin' a great job.
We have, uh, a great lineup.
We need to keep that for the next years to come.
No, it's... it's a good thing that we've got three good ones.
[commentator 4] What a way to kick off his 2015 championship.
Oscar Piastri!
I'm Oscar Piastri.
I'm the current Formula 2 champion and former Formula 3 champion,
and I am the reserve driver for Alpine F1 team.
I've had a good few years in the junior categories,
and I wanna be able to... to build on that momentum,
to seize the moment when that occasion arises.
He is an outstanding talent.
We had an opportunity to potentially do something with him
in his very formative years,
and we didn't pursue that.
That's something I regret not doing
because he could be the next Max Verstappen.
Oscar is mega talented
and highly regarded
to the extent that any team in the sport would love to have him.
[commentator 4] Oh, and Oscar gets a champagne shower there.
There's only one way.
- Yeah. - It's up.
It's up. [chuckles]
- Cheers to that. - Cheers.
[glasses clink]
[Szafnauer] Uh-uh. In your bed.
Bear, in your bed. In your bed.
[energetic music playing]
[producer] I mean, surely these are the perks of Formula 1.
You know, you can have your private jets,
you can have your hotels,
but a police escort... [chuckles]
[Ocon] Yeah, it's really crazy.
- It's ridiculous if you think about it. - [siren blares]
[producer] It's your job to overtake.
Not queueing on the motorway.
[commentator 1] Welcome along
to the last Formula 1 Grand Prix before the summer break.
It is the Hungarian Grand Prix.
[indistinct yelling]
[rhythmic tapping]
[Szafnauer] Ah. Bit of pasta.
[notification tweets]
[camera shutters clicking]
[reporter in German] Is that okay?
[Vettel] Not really. We have media later, right?
We've got them after the TV.
[notification tweets]
[in English] Seb has Instagram?
What am I missing?
Okay.
I hereby announce my retirement from Formula 1
by the end of the 2022 season.
[dramatic stinger]
My goals have shifted from winning races
and fighting for championships
to seeing my children grow.
Farewell, and thanks for letting me share the track with you.
I loved every bit of it.
[reporter] Big news of the weekend is that Vettel has announced his retirement.
He will be retiring at the end of this year.
So sad to hear that you're retiring.
You're my favorite driver. I've followed you since Ferrari.
Anytime you have a... a driver of Sebastian's, uh, pedigree retire,
it... it's big news.
[Vettel in German] It's enough. It's time to do something else.
[in English] This is gonna kick off a merry-go-round of driver changes.
[Leclerc] Seb.
Negotiations go on behind the scenes all the time.
However, these come to light around the August break,
and because there are so many rumors,
it has widely become known as silly season.
[reporter] What happened, and what made your decision final?
- Maybe I was drunk. I don't know! - [both chuckle]
No. I, uh... I know I was not drunk.
[Gow] It's like a giant game of musical chairs.
You never quite know who's gonna be a big winner,
but someone always loses out.
[reporter] It very much opens silly season in the driver market,
and Daniel Ricciardo's is a name that has been in the midst
in this contract talk too.
In terms of silly season, we are not part of it, so can't comment.
You have to ask other teams.
Oh, very diplomatic. [chuckles]
[clock ticking]
F1 is, uh, more ruthless than any business that I've ever been involved in.
[Steiner] Everybody tries to have everybody else over,
or eat them up.
If there are ten piranhas in a basin,
and somebody puts their hand in, everybody wants to eat that hand.
[Gow] Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin,
they have the budget to get whoever they want,
and they wanna get the biggest name they can,
so, for team principals who are still mid-contract talks with their drivers,
all of a sudden, alarm bells are ringing.
[reporter 1] Otmar, just to go back on the Fernando point,
you said you're confident he's gonna stay,
but did he speak to you about maybe wanting to go elsewhere?
[Szafnauer] We like him, um...
We like him a lot 'cause he's performing, and he says he likes us.
Yeah, he's absolutely brilliant
and performing to a high level, so...
[reporter 2] Is it a question of money with Fernando or...
[Szafnauer] Not just Fernando.
Every driver I've ever negotiated with,
they want the most money, and we wanna pay the least.
[all chuckle]
And then we end up in some kinda unhappy place for everyone,
or a happy place that everyone's willing to sign.
[ominous music playing]
[Szafnauer] Fernando's in his last year on his contract,
and we need to keep that experience and sign him up for the following year.
[team member] Who's gonna start singing "Happy Birthday"?
[Szafnauer] Yeah. I will.
[team member] Yeah? You got a good voice for it.
- [Szafnauer] It'll be in English, right? - I hope so.
Or in Spanish?
Do a mixture of both.
[in Spanish] Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
[in English] Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, dear Fernando
Happy birthday to you
[all cheering]
- I need to wish something. - [scattered chuckles]
Thank you.
[applause]
Thank you.
So this is a small birthday present from all of us, but mainly the kitchen.
[Alonso chuckles]
And a bigger birthday present coming later today.
- [chuckles] - Happy... Happy birthday.
- Forty-one? - Yep.
- For number 14. - Yep.
- It's a good juxtaposition of numbers.
- Good numbers. - Thank you, guys.
And, uh...
Enjoy your weekend. Let's get on the podium.
[Alonso] Alpine has been always part of my family in Formula 1.
Nine years, been with Renault or Alpine,
but, uh, you never know what the future will bring.
[Szafnauer] So, if I get the thing from Benet...
[Alonso] Okay.
[Szafnauer] ...we sign. I...
[Alonso] If it's not today, it's gonna be tomorrow.
[Szafnauer] Yeah, 'cause I'm a guy of my word.
If I say Friday, it's got to be Friday.
[Alonso] As long as it's not September.
[Szafnauer] No, no, no, no. Now.
Okay, ciao. Happy birthday.
[rhythmic music playing]
[wheel gun whirring]
- [Szafnauer] Ready? - [team member] Yeah. Limbering up?
- Pardon? - Limbering up?
Yeah. My limbering up should be kinda like a little bit of this.
[team member] It just gives me flashbacks to this year last time.
[Szafnauer] I wasn't with you guys last year.
I was with the bad guys.
- [team member] The enemy. - The enemy.
- They're all the enemy. - Exactly.
The more a driver performs, the more choices he will have,
and you can see in the driver market that there's a lot of competition,
a lot of skulduggery that sometimes goes on.
[crowd cheering]
[Szafnauer] Hi, Laurent.
It might be true because, like I said,
there was, uh... there definitely was a meeting.
During the weekend, uh,
there were strong rumors about Fernando.
You know, the paddock's small.
[indistinct over radio]
[Szafnauer] Yeah, let's talk after the start. I'll call you.
It's unbelievable.
[dramatic stinger]
[intense music playing]
[commentator 1] Welcome along
to the last Formula 1 Grand Prix before the summer break.
[commentator 5] The Alpines of Alonso and Ocon are fifth and sixth,
McLaren's Norris in fourth, and Ricciardo in ninth place.
It's all about McLaren versus Alpine today.
Both teams will need their drivers scoring points
in their battle for fourth in the Constructors' Championship.
[Loos] Last car is on the grid.
[intense music intensifies]
[rhythmic beeping]
[commentator 1] And it's lights out and away we go.
[commentator 5] A great start by the Alpines.
They're flying.
[commentator 2] Alpines are going wheel to wheel. Alonso trying to get through.
[Stallard] Could be close with Ocon, pit exit.
[commentator 2] Daniel Ricciardo's on the tail of the two Alpines here.
[Loos] The car behind you now is Ricciardo.
[Alonso] Copy.
[crowd cheering]
[Stallard] You can use overtake, make his life difficult.
[Ricciardo] Understood.
[commentator 2] Norris is in front, but Ricciardo is stuck behind the Alpines.
And Ricciardo gets them both.
That could be huge in the battle for fourth.
[Ricciardo] Let's fucking go.
[Stallard] Good work. Good work.
[Alonso] Jesus Christ.
[groans]
Fuck.
[commentator 2] Now the Alpines are under pressure
from Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin.
[Loos] That's Stroll behind, mate.
[commentator 2] Stroll to the inside of Alonso.
And through.
[Alonso] Unbelievable.
[Peckett] Stroll now the car behind us. DRS.
[commentator 2] Ocon powerless to resist Stroll.
Alpine's day's going from bad to worse.
[Stallard] Stroll, 0.6 seconds behind.
[Michell] So car ahead, Ricciardo. Let's go get him.
[commentator 2] Here's Stroll attacking the outside of Ricciardo into turn two.
There's contact. Stroll's off.
[sarcastic laugh]
[Stroll] I gave him plenty of room.
[Michell] We saw, mate. Get going.
- [Stroll] Fucking hit me. - Yeah, we saw.
- Check damage. - Yeah, we're checking. We're checking.
[Ricciardo] There's no way I could get that stopped.
[Stallard] Copy.
Daniel, we have a five-second penalty for the clash with Stroll.
[commentator 1] Max Verstappen comes home to win the Hungarian Grand Prix.
[Loos] Okay, that's P8.
[Alonso] Okay. Is Daniel out of the points?
[Loos] Yeah, Daniel's out of the points.
[Peckett] Okay, and that is the checkered flag.
- [Ocon] Yeah. - [Peckett] It's P9.
[Stallard] Okay, Daniel. We crossed the line P13,
but we'll have a five-second penalty.
[commentator 2] Ricciardo's 5-second penalty means
he ends up in 15th place.
With only one McLaren finishing in the points,
despite a challenging race,
Alpine have secured fourth place, with both their drivers in the points.
- [team member] Good. Good. Well done. - [Szafnauer] Well done.
[team member] We can have pizza tonight now, Ciaron.
- [Ciaron] We're allowed. - [team member] What you doing tonight?
I got this BWT thing, and after that, I'll meet you for a beer.
- [man 1] Otmar! - [Szafnauer] Hey!
- [man 1] Hello! - [applause]
[man 2] Hello, big boss.
[man 3] Give him a big applause.
- [Szafnauer] How are you? - [indistinct response]
[chanting] Otmar! Otmar! Otmar! Otmar!
Otmar! Otmar! Otmar! Otmar!
Otmar! [cheering]
[all cheering]
- How are you? - [man 2] How's everybody?
Did you eat?
[man 3] Otmar, you are so cool.
I'm very happy that you are...
All our future, you are everything for us, you know it.
Hey, can we give him an applause? It was really great.
[Szafnauer] I didn't do it. The drivers did it.
[all cheering]
[tense music playing]
[Alonso] Seb retired, and, um, I received a call from Lawrence.
He told me, "I guess you are with Alpine for the future,"
and I said, "No, it's not the case. I'm... I'm waiting for the contract to sign."
So yeah, he sent the proposal, and it was...
a happy one for me, and uh, we move on.
- [dramatic stinger] - [notification tweets]
[reporter 1] Fernando Alonso will join Aston Martin next season in Formula 1,
replacing the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
The two-time World Champion will leave Alpine.
[reporter 2] Aston Martin are currently second bottom in the Constructors',
but hailed the signing as a clear statement of intent.
[Lawrence] It's about one thing, winning.
Um, and winning means winning.
And, like any other business, it's all about people.
[Horner] It's typical Fernando.
He obviously wasn't getting what he wanted at Alpine,
and he's decided to take control of his own situation.
That's what makes him the ruthless competitor that he is,
and, uh, sometimes unpredictable.
[Szafnauer] It was difficult for me to understand
the lack of loyalty to Alpine.
During the weekend, I had my suspicions,
but I thought that what he would really focus on
was the fact that we're the fourth-fastest team.
I thought that would sway him a little bit more
than, uh, whatever Aston gave him to sway him.
[producer] More money, presumably.
I can only guess.
Bye-bye.
I'm still the bad guy.
[ominous music playing]
[birds tweeting]
Can I sneak by, guys?
Uh, good morning, everyone, and thanks for coming.
I wanna start with an apology.
I don't really like all of us learning through the media and through the press,
uh, that kind of news.
We were having good negotiations with Fernando to continue with the team,
and for many of you, he's part of our family,
and we gave him what we thought, and he accepted, was a fair contract,
but let's show him that he made the wrong choice.
So, looking into the future,
we do have now a spot for Oscar, our reserve driver.
[notification tweets]
[applause]
[Szafnauer] Thank you very much.
[intense music builds to climax]
- [Brown] Got a second? - [Walsh] Yep.
[Brown] Cool.
We can't keep going on like this.
It's not... good for the team.
It's not good for our sponsors.
Don't know why it's not clicking as relates to Daniel,
but it's not clicking.
And we think we need to start considering what a change would look like.
And the driver that gets us the most excited is Oscar Piastri.
Can we get him?
[calculating music playing]
Alpine's a good team to be driving for because we're doing all the right things
and putting the tools in place that are required to win.
I'm excited to have Oscar for 2023.
[music builds to climax]
[notification tweets]
[intense music playing]
Nobody saw it coming. I mean, it's just...
[reporter] Oscar drops an absolute bombshell.
Everyone is kicking off.
This is a real drama for Otmar and Alpine.
[phone beeping]
[Szafnauer] Hey, Laurent. It's, uh, Otmar calling.
So we've got problems.
[music intensifies, builds]
[music halts]
[exhales, sniffs]
[sighs]
We've got an open seat, and we need to fill it with somebody that's fast...
[Gasly] I always love a challenge.
- [Szafnauer] ...somebody experienced. - [Ricciardo] I wanna get back to winning.
[Gasly] I want it more than anyone.
[Ricciardo] I know I can do it.
[dramatic music playing]
[Gasly] Time to be a fucking killer.
If he does not perform, then everything could become a problem.
[Gasly] People just remember your last race.
That's how the sport works.
[Tsunoda] I want to show that I can deliver the performance
for the team, for the Japanese fans.
[chuckles] No pressure.
[energetic outro music playing]