The moment which put Piastri on track for F1 stardom with McLaren as Alpine struggles

It's the tweet that changed everything for Oscar Piastri.

A blunt 48-word message in 2022 paved the way for the Australian driver to lead the current Formula 1 standings with McLaren, rather than struggling to get into the top 10 with Alpine.

“I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year,” Piastri wrote. “This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”

Nearly three years on from Piastri — who was then Alpine's reserve — snubbing the team for McLaren in such a public way, it's clear he made the right choice.

Piastri has won four of the six races this season and is on a three-win streak. He has 131 points while Alpine has seven points in total and last won a race nearly four years ago.

Piastri is targeting a fourth consecutive win in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, but suspects the bumpy Imola track could mean tougher competition for McLaren than two weeks ago in Miami.

“When you’ve won four out of six, it’s been a great start. I’ve been enjoying the success on track but, for me, what’s been very satisfying is all the work we’ve done behind the scenes to achieve that,” he said. “It’s quite a different feeling when you win a race because you feel like you’ve just gotten by or had good circumstances. But to now be winning because we have an incredibly quick car and I feel like I’m driving well, that’s very satisfying.”

Piastri and McLaren had the pace again Friday to be fastest in both practice sessions, but only by narrow margins from teammate and title rival Lando Norris.

In the first session, Piastri was fastest by .0032 of a second ahead of Norris. Carlos Sainz Jr. was third fastest for Williams, .020 off Norris’ time. Defending champion Max Verstappen was only seventh fastest for Red Bull.

Piastri and McLaren stretched their advantage over other teams in the second session as he led by .025 from Norris, but Alpine's Pierre Gasly was .276 back in third.

Both sessions had red flags. The first was stopped when Gabriel Bortoleto slid off track and tapped the barrier, leaving his Sauber stuck in the gravel, while the second was interrupted for Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls spinning off into a barrier.

Alpine isn't challenging the top teams on pace but it's in pole position for drama.

The Renault-owned team was expected for months to drop Australian driver Jack Doohan, a rookie, for the fast but inconsistent reserve Franco Colapinto.

At the Miami Grand Prix, team principal Oliver Oakes dismissed that claim, but two days after the Miami race Oakes suddenly resigned. A day later, Alpine dropped Doohan — whose best race result was 13th — after the Miami GP and promoted Colapinto.

The Argentine driver, a mid-season replacement at Williams in 2024, is happy to be back in F1 but expressed reservations Thursday about how the whole process has been handled.

Colapinto said it's “never nice circumstances” to get a seat at another driver's expense, and expressed concern his new deal — which runs for only five races — isn't long enough to really show what he can do.

The first of two races in Italy this year is already delighting the home fans.

For the first time since 2021, they have an Italian driver in Mercedes' 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli, and Ferrari's red-clad tifosi fans get their first sight of Lewis Hamilton racing for the team on Italian soil.

It was a mixed day for Ferrari on Friday, though, as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc complained of braking issues in practice. In the first session, Hamilton was fifth and Leclerc 12th. In the second, Leclerc was sixth and Hamilton 11th.

Piastri, too, has been connecting with his Italian heritage as he met with some “very, very distant relatives” and became an honorary citizen of Licciana Nardi in Tuscany, where his family name originated.

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the first free practice at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, in Imola, Italy, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Alpine driver Franco Colapinto of Argentina steers his car during the first free practice at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, in Imola, Italy, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the first free practice at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, in Imola, Italy, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia sits in his car during the first free practice at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, in Imola, Italy, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia walks in the paddock at the Dino and Enzo Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, left, is flaked by his teammate Oscar Piastri of Australia in the paddock at the Dino and Enzo Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia answers reporters during a news conference at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, ahead the Italy's Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

LONDON (AP) — Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua issued his first public update on Sunday following the car crash that killed two of his friends in Nigeria.

Joshua posted a picture on his Instagram account of him sitting on a couch with his mother and three other women, one of whom is holding a photo on her lap. Joshua wrote “My Brothers Keeper” on the caption along with two hearts.

British media reported on Saturday that Joshua had returned to Britain ahead of the funerals of Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, which were reportedly held on Sunday.

They died after the vehicle they were traveling in along with Joshua struck a stationary truck on a major road near Lagos on Monday.

Joshua sustained minor injuries and the two-time heavyweight champion was released from a hospital on Wednesday after being deemed fit to recover at home.

Ghami was Joshua’s strength and conditioning coach while Ayodele was a trainer. Just hours before the crash, Joshua and Ayodele posted clips on social media of the pair playing table tennis together.

The driver of the car, Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, was charged on Friday with dangerous and reckless driving, with the court case adjourned to Jan. 20 for trial.

Joshua has family roots in Nigeria and he briefly attended boarding school there as a child. He also holds Nigerian nationality.

On Sunday, former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury announced that he is coming out of retirement amid speculation of a long-awaited fight with Joshua, who has yet to comment about his future in boxing.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

In this photo provided by the Federal Road Safety Corps, people walk past the accident scene of British boxer Anthony Joshua in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Federal Road Safety Corps via AP)