F1: FIA CRB says Piastri deal with McLaren valid

Formula One has a fairly succinct process to resolve driver contract disputes. Alpine’s junior driver Oscar Piastri has agreed a deal as of August 1st to sign for McLaren F1, but Alpine claimed he state the board’s decision is final and Alpine have no right of appeal.

FIA’s contract recognition board (CRB) are said to have today ruled Piastri’s new contract with McLaren is valid and surpass his previous deal with ALPINE.

The FIA’s contract recognition board have in fact ruled McLaren’s contract with Piastri for 2023 legal and that Alpine have no claim on the driver beyond their current contract which expires in 2022.

Piastri’s deal with McLaren was apparently finalized on the 31st July, the day Alpine’s option to extend expired. It was then ratified the same day as Alonso’s with Aston Martin.

Alpine incompetence saw them lose 2 drivers in 2 days.

How the CRB works

The FIA Contract Recognition Board (CRB) is a body set up by motorsports governing body, the FIA, to determine the legality of driver contracts and to settle disputes between Formula One teams over such contracts. The CRB meets in Geneva, Switzerland and is made up of independent lawyers who are considered to be suitably experienced in the law of contract. It aims to decide disputes in a few days, rather than the extended periods a court of law would take.

The CRB is designed to protect both the teams and the drivers.

Teams accept that they will respect the decisions of this body when they sign their commercial deals with the Formula One group, when they enter the World Championship and in the driver contracts. Drivers agree to accept the CRB decisions when they sign their team contracts. This also means that all parties agree to expressly submit themselves to the exclusive jurisdiction of the CRB and not go to any other legal bodies, such as the High Court.

This means that a driver can get out of a contract that has been lodged with the CRB only if there are specific clauses in the contract to allow him to do so; or if the team and the driver can reach a suitable arrangement that means that the contract is declared null and void by both parties.

So, even if, for example, a driver decides that he wants to stop driving for a certain team, he can do that, but he cannot then go off and drive for someone else, until the original contract is finished. That mean that negotiations for the release of a driver is therefore long process and usually involves rather considerable amounts of money changing hands.