Aditya ChaudhuriFrench Formula One team Alpine have announced that current AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly will be racing for them from the 2023 season onwards. Gasly will replace two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who will be leaving Alpine for Aston Martin at the end of the 2022 season. Gasly will be joining the French team on a multi-year contract.
Gasly had earlier signed a contract extension with AlphaTauri which would have seen him stay at the Faenza-based team till the end of 2023, but Red Bull decided to release him of that contract early.
Gasly made his Formula One debut with AlphaTauri during their Torro Rosso days. After two strong seasons with them, he was promoted to the Red Bull team in 2019 to replace the then-departing Daniel Ricciardo.
Gasly’s time with Red Bull was short-lived, though. He was continuously out-performed and out-scored by teammate Max Verstappen and was ultimately sacked mid-season in 2019. Gasly then returned to AlphaTauri, while Alex Albon took his place at Red Bull.
Since his return to AlphaTauri, Gasly has been the team’s standout performer, having scored three podiums and even a stunning victory at the Italian Grand Prix in 2020. Gasly is regarded as one of the finest drivers on the grid at the moment and has regularly been a strong points scorer for his team.
Gasly has been consistently getting more than expected out of the AlphaTauri machinery he has to work with, and while his strong performances gave him hope of a return to Red Bull, the Austrian team have been clear that the path back to Red Bull is closed for the Frenchman. Since then, Gasly has been looking for a move to a team at the front of the grid; with Alpine being on an upward trajectory over the last couple of seasons, he finally seems to have moved to a team higher in the field and out of the Red Bull programme.
Gasly had been linked with the Alpine seat ever since Alonso announced his decision to leave the team, which was then followed by the entire Oscar Piastri drama. Along with Gasly, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was also supposedly in contention for the seat after he announced that he would be parting ways with McLaren at the end of the ongoing season. Ricciardo had already had a successful stint with the Alpine team during 2019 and 2020 seasons, winning them two podium finishes. The Australian seems to have lost his form, though, which has made the French team let go of him in favour of the more reliable Gasly.
Being French was also an added advantage for the 26-year-old Gasly. The Red Bull management, including Dr. Helmut Marko, head of the Red Bull driver development programme, had stated earlier this year that, should Gasly get a good offer which met Red Bull’s criteria, they would release him from the Red Bull programme.
Speaking about joining Alpine, Gasly said:
“I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter in my Formula 1 career. Driving for a team that has French roots is something very special. I know the strengths of Alpine having raced against them over the past couple of years and, clearly, their progress and ambition is very impressive.
“I wish to thank Red Bull as this marks the end of our nine-year journey together. It is thanks to their trust and support that I became a Formula 1 driver, and what we’ve achieved with Scuderia AlphaTauri over the last years has been very special. Looking ahead, I want to give the maximum and utilise all my experience to fight for podiums and ultimately contribute to Alpine’s fight for championships in the future.“
Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal, Alpine, stated:
“I’m very happy that Pierre will be joining the team for 2023 and beyond. He is already a proven talent within Formula 1, and we are looking forward to harnessing that within the team. Our team has several objectives for the coming seasons and I firmly believe our driver line-up is a great reflection of the team’s high ambitions.
“I trust Pierre and Esteban can, together, motivate the team to continue its progress towards these goals. We would also like to thank Red Bull for agreeing the terms to allow Pierre to take this step.“
Laurent Rossi, CEO, Alpine, commented:
“I would like to welcome Pierre to the Alpine family. He is a talented and motivated driver who will contribute positively to our objectives in Formula 1. Pierre is completely aligned with the ambition and progression that has, to date, been a hallmark of the Alpine project. As a young, but highly experienced and successful driver, his trajectory is on course with our own, and we look forward to growing together.“
Luca de Meo, CEO, Renault Group, added:
“We are proud to present an all-French driver line-up from 2023. Our roots are in France, and Alpine was born in Normandy, so this is a serendipity of sorts. Both will drive the team and the Group forward and, I hope, we can become a symbol of pride for France.“
With Gasly joining the French team, Alpine are set to have an all-French driver line-up, with both Esteban Ocon and Gasly hailing from France.
With Alpine announcing their line-up for the 2023 season, the Formula One grid has now only two empty seats left, one of them being the second Haas seat which Mick Schumacher currently holds and the other being the Williams seat Nicholas Latifi will vacate at the end of the season. The final seat which remains empty is the one Gasly will leave at the end of the season at AlphaTauri. Mercedes academy driver Nyck de Vries is set to replace the Frenchman and partner Yuki Tsunoda.
