Pierre Gasly to stay with AlphaTauri till 2023

French Formula One driver Pierre Gasly has re-signed with AlphaTauri for another year, extending his stay with the team till the end of the 2023 season.

There were numerous speculations that the 26-year old Frenchman wanted to leave the Red Bull set-up, the latter having extended Sergio Pérez‘s contract, which meant Gasly would have to wait a further two years to regain his seat at Red Bull. Gasly himself had stated that he was open to moving out of the Red Bull teams, but AlphaTauri team boss Franz Tost had stated during the Canadian race weekend that he was certain the Frenchman would stay.

By extending his stay with the Faenza-based team, Gasly will continue with the team he made his Formula One debut with in 2017. Now the senior driver at the team, Gasly’s experience is exactly what his young teammate Yuki Tsunoda needs as he slowly finds his footing in Formula One.

Speaking about his contract extension, Gasly stated:

“I have been with this team for five years now and I am proud of the journey we’ve been through together and the progress we have made. I’m happy to remain with my Scuderia AlphaTauri team. This year’s new regulations have created new challenges for us and being able to plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good working basis for the future.“

Franz Tost, Team Principal, AlphaTauri, added:

“We are really pleased to confirm that Pierre stays with us in 2023. He is definitely in the group of the best and most competitive drivers in F1 and has proven his abilities during all the time he has spent with us. Undoubtedly, Pierre can play a major role in the team having a successful season next year and it will be down to us to provide him with a competitive car, so that he can continue to deliver excellent results.“

The Frenchman, who made his debut at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, spent two seasons with the team before being promoted to Red Bull to replace Daniel Ricciardo. He struggled to find his feet in the Red Bull team, however, and his poor performances saw him return to Toro Rosso in the middle of 2019.

Since his return to Toro Rosso, Gasly has been one of the most consistent drivers on the grid, regularly qualifying in the top ten and scoring strongly for his team. He has three podiums for his team and took his maiden win with them in 2020 at the Italian Grand Prix. 

Gasly’s stellar performances with AlphaTauri had prompted speculation that he might finally be ready to take that second Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, but the Austrian team decided against it. With Pérez locked in till 2024 and Gasly signing a one-year extension, it seems inevitable that, once Gasly’s contract with AlphaTauri ends in 2023, the Frenchman will follow the footsteps of Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz and leave the Red Bull programme.

With multiple drivers running out of contract at the end of 2023, it is likely that Gasly joins a non-Red Bull team to take a step forward in his career. Currently in the peak of his career, Gasly knows that he has the skill to be performing for a top team, and it is only a matter of time before he has that machinery under him to help him regularly fight for podiums and wins.