Alpine chief Otmar Szafnauer would be open to welcoming Daniel Ricciardo back to the team if preferred choice Oscar Piastri signs with McLaren.
The Australian spent two years with the Enstone-based outfit, back when they were still branded as Renault. He left to join midfield rivals McLaren for the start of the 2021 season, but has failed to settle in and is stull struggling for consistency with a tricky car.
Alpine have made it clear that they want reserve driver Piastri to fill the seat that will be vacated by Fernando Alonso at the end of the year. They even announced that he would do so, only for the F2 champion to claim 90 minutes later that he would not be driving for the team in 2023.
Szafnauer's team has since doubled-down on its position, as they "believe we are legally correct in our statement". Piastri has a contract with the team with obligations to be fulfilled by both, and Alpine feel they have upheld their end of the bargain and now want the young Aussie to do the same.
But should, for whatever reason, they be forced to allow Piastri to leave and join McLaren – thanks to the hard work of his manager Mark Webber – the man he replaces would be an ideal alternative.
Ricciardo's form has not been all that impressive, but he comes with the pedigree of being an eight-time race winner.
The 33-year-old burnt bridges with Cyril Abiteboul by leaving when the Frenchman was team principal at Renault. But he is now gone, with Szafnauer and chief executive Laurent Rossi now calling the shots, meaning the possibility of a second chance with Alpine is there.
"I mean, if you look at Fernando, for example, he comes and goes, and I think that happens to other drivers too," Szafnaur told Motorsport.com when asked about Ricciardo.
"And I don't think that's an issue at all. I think what we need to focus on is, like I say, the plans that we have for the next eight or nine races.
"We've got to make sure that we complement that plan with the best driver that we can, and there are some options out there for us. And we put the best driver in next to Esteban [Ocon], so that we can move forward towards what we've been planning."
Ricciardo is currently contracted to McLaren until the end of the 2023 season, and recently vowed to see out that deal as he tries to find his best form.
But chief executive Zak Brown has previously hinted at "mechanisms" the team has to potentially cut that deal short, should they prefer to go forwards with Piastri partnering Lando Norris.
