Pierre Gasly will embark on a new chapter of his Formula 1 career next season with Alpine.
After a lot of speculation, the Enstone-based team finally confirmed they will sign the 26-year-old to race for them in a multi-year deal from 2023. Gasly, who had a year remaining on his AlphaTauri deal, will form an exciting all-French driver lineup at Alpine alongside Esteban Ocon.
Following the announcement, 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 9-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.”
Red Bull chiefs had made it clear that they were prepared to allow Gasly to leave a year earlier than planned, but only if they had an "exciting" replacement lined up. Colton Herta was their original choice, but that plan was scuppered when the FIA refused to bend superlicence rules to allow the American to switch from IndyCar.
At first that looked to have left Gasly's Alpine move dead in the water. However, a few days after the collapse of the Herta deal, Nyck de Vries was spotted meeting Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko in Austria – fuelling speculation the Dutchman was on AlphaTauri's shortlist.
De Vries later confirmed he had been speaking with Marko, who heads up the Red Bull driver development programme. It seems he caught the 79-year-old's attention with his remarkable F1 debut standing in for the incapacitated Alex Albon at the Italian Grand Prix.
After being called up at short notice by Williams, de Vries did well in qualifying and started the race eighth courtesy of a swathe of grid penalties for other drivers. He went on to impress in the race and finish ninth, securing the team's best result of the season to date and showing the F1 paddock what he is capable of.
Williams were considering him to drive alongside Albon next year, following their announcement that Nicholas Latifi would leave at the end of the current season. But now it seems they have been gazumped by AlphaTauri and will have to consider alternative options.
