The news that, initially, you do not expect has instead become official. After a long phase of negotiation, Alpine has finally found who will support Esteban Ocon for 2023.
Alpine, it's made for Gasly
In fact, the French team made it official through its social channels in the middle of the pre-Suzuka night that Pierre Gasly will officially replace Fernando Alonso from 2023. For Gasly, therefore, the years in orbit come to an end Red Bull, with the glimmers of (re) landing in the top team that seemed to be really far away, also considering the renewal of Perez happened this season. In the end, in the Alpine house, the talent of the twenty-six-year-old Frenchman prevailed who, following the farewell of Alonso and Piastri, he will find himself certainly in a role that is not easy to fill. Nothing to do, from a market perspective, so for Mick Schumacher which can but still hope of Williams, or in the same Alpha Tauri Gasly's own orphan.
Gasly: "A new chapter begins"
As usual, once it's official, they are not miss Pierre Gasly's statements:
“I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter of my Formula 1 career“said Gasly, looking forward to joining the French team. “Riding for a team that has French roots is something very special. I know Alpine's strengths having raced against them for the past two years and clearly their progress and ambitions are very impressive.”
“I would like 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 have achieved with Scuderia AlphaTauri over the last few years has been truly special."
“Looking forward, I want to give it my all and use all my experience to fight for podiums and ultimately contribute to Alpine's fight for championships in the future.”
Szafnauer: "Gasly is a talent"
Team principal Otmar also welcomed the Frenchman to Alpine Saffron who commented on the multi-year contract with the Frenchman from Red Bull as follows:
“I am very happy that Pierre will be joining the team for 2023 and beyond,” said Otmar Szafnauer. “He is already a proven talent within Formula 1 and we are looking forward to exploiting him within the team. Our team has several objectives for the coming seasons and I strongly believe that our driver line-up is a great reflection of the team's great ambitions."
“I trust that Pierre and Esteban can, together, motivate the team to continue its progress towards these goals. We would also like to thank Red Bull for accepting the terms to allow Pierre to take this step."
The words of the rest of the group
“I would like to welcome Pierre to the Alpine family. He is a talented and motivated driver who will contribute positively to our goals in Formula 1.” commented CEO Laurent Rossi.
“Pierre is fully aligned with the ambition and progression that has been, to this day, a hallmark of the Alpine project. As a young but highly experienced and successful driver, his trajectory is in line with ours and we look forward to growing together.”
Comment also shared by Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group, who declared: “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 kind of a fluke. Both will lead the team and the Group forward and hopefully we can become a symbol of pride for France."
Source: f1.com
