sport news Oscar Piastri is F1's next big thing, but how did young Australian become hot ... trends now

Certainties are always a rare commodity when it comes to the annual musical chairs event that is Formula One's 'silly season'.

Alpine single-handedly raised the bar this week, announcing on Tuesday that Oscar Piastri had been promoted from reserve driver to partner Esteban Ocon and replace the Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso from next season.

The Australian, however, swiftly denied any agreement had been reached, leaving Alpine with a seat to fill for 2023 and to pick up the piece of an embarrassing PR own goal.

'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 said in a post on his official Twitter account.

'This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.'

While it may be premature to suggest the Australian has already bagged a seat elsewhere for next season, young drivers seldom turn down offers to drive in Formula One.

Motorsport's premier class has been in Piastri's sight since he took his first steps in go-karting aged 10. Four years later, he left friends and family behind to move to Britain to attend boarding school and further his career.

'That was a big change for me - moving out at 14-years-old and going off to school outside of Australia – but it was a necessary step to take in order to get to F1,' he told FIA's official website last year.

'I think that I grew a lot because of it.' 

Incidentally, his future could now lie with a British team.  

Piastri was linked with a move to Williams to replace the struggling Nicholas Latifi mid-season and his name has also been floated as a potential replacement for fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo.

The latter is under contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 season but his future has been subject of debate after a largely underwhelming second campaign with the Woking-based outfit. 

As if the prospect of Piastri replacing his compatriot wasn't intriguing enough, a third Australian may have a significant role to play in this particular scenario.

Former Red Bull star Mark Webber is Piastri's agent and several reports have suggested he would try to steer his client towards McLaren.

Ricciardo has repeatedly insisted he will see his deal out, but McLaren boss Zak Brown has hinted his contract includes a 'mechanism' that would allow the team to part ways with the 33-year-old before the end of next season.