McLaren gave a press conference tonight at Zandvoort following the signing of Oscar Piastri, an opportunity to explain themselves and hit back at critics. Many personalities, starting with Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, but also Toto Wolff or Christian Horner, have criticized Piastri’s actions, saying he should have acted with more integrity and loyalty to a team that had paid for its rise and formation. “Regarding the comments we saw from other parties, it’s not for us to comment. For us, to be honest, it was quite simple,” explains Andreas Seidl. “There are two things you need to have in place if you want a driver to drive for you in Formula 1, that’s a contract and registration with the Contract Recognition Board. That’s what we put in place in July and so our plan was clear. The other team didn’t have any of that and that was acknowledged.” “So am, I’m a little surprised by some of the comments I’ve read from people who had no detailed knowledge of what was actually going on.” “I think some of these comments were therefore inappropriate, not fair and just not respectful of what was happening. If I observe such a situation elsewhere without knowing what happened, yes just on one side, I try to avoid commenting on this, it is important to mention it as well in order to protect Oscar who is being wrongfully accused.” The CRB has confirmed that McLaren signed a contract with Piastri on July 4. A first negotiation document had even been signed at the beginning of June. “Oscar and his management were very transparent with us throughout the process. And based on what we knew and what we had signed, we were very confident that this would be a result in our favor with the CRB.” Seidl recalls that Red Bull motorsports consultant Helmut Marko had tried unsuccessfully to sign Lando Norris several years earlier, but McLaren had a contract in place with him at the time. “Marko couldn’t get Lando because we had a contract with Lando,” continued Zak Brown. “I just think if you have a driver in your team you have to have a contract with them because it’s a very competitive environment as we know. All the teams are always looking for the best talent possible and if you don’t have a contract, you’re vulnerable.”