Pierre Gasly will be racing from an all-french team i.e., BWT Alpine from 2023. This will be a first in a long time that the team and its drivers all have the home grand prix at one circuit – in this case, the Paul Ricard Circuit in France. Gasly was originally intended to stay at Alpha Tauri for 2023 but were released by RedBull (the parent team of Alpha Tauri) to join Alpine. After his not-so-impressive performance at RedBull in 2019, he was demoted and replaced by Alex Albon who now drives with Williams. Gasly’s demotion stirred up the fans and they were not happy with RedBull not even allowing him as much times as they did with Albon or Verstappen. It took Verstappen 7 years to get a championship win in 2021 and even that was extremely controversial. It could still be as we await FIA’s cost cap reports on Monday
Gasly redeemed himself with Alpha tauri with exceptional performance and now that he is finally free from RedBull’s clinches, sky is the limit for a taent like him. Alpine has grown to be a very competitive outfit in the mid-field and is on the way to be competing at the top being backed by Renault. Perhaps, Ricciardo did make a mistake in looking the other way because if Alpine’s reliability issues are handled, a talented driver could get multiple podiums this year as we saw with Alonso.
“I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter in my Formula 1 career,” said Gasly, a one-time Grand Prix winner. “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.”
When Fernando Alonso suddenly decided to join Aston Martin next from 2023, Alpine had caught themselves in a messy situation. Then the whole Oscar Piastri denying joining Alpine as Alpine released a press tweet did no good for them either. Most people were thinking that Ricciardo could go back there but, with the history they’ve had, it seemed unlikely. Now that Gasly is a part of Alpine, here’s what the team boss had to say.
“I’m very happy that Pierre will be joining the team for 2023 and beyond,” said Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer. “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.”
