Pierre Gasly: French driver joining Alpine from AlphaTauri for Formula 1 2023 as transfer saga finally ends

Pierre Gasly to partner Esteban Ocon at Alpine in 2023 as team finally get their man; Alpine were rejected by Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri earlier this summer but agree a deal with Red Bull to release AlphaTauri driver; AlphaTauri expected to confirm Nyck de Vries as replacement

Pierre Gasly will race for Alpine next season after the French team finally thrashed out a deal with the AlphaTauri driver to end an F1 transfer saga.

Having been snubbed by current driver Fernando Alonso (leaving for Aston Martin) and reserve Oscar Piastri (McLaren) for a seat next year, Gasly was always Alpine’s number one target – as reported by Sky Sports F1 in August – and they have now landed their man.

Gasly, the always highly-rated but often overlooked driver who has 103 races and one incredible win under his belt, will form an all-French line-up with Esteban Ocon.

“It was a clear call and definitely very attractive,” Gasly, 26, told Sky Sports F1. “It felt the right time for me to take my own start and take my career on my own and start this incredible story with Alpine.”

“He brings a wealth of experience, and speed,” stated Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer. “And those are the two things we were looking for.”

Gasly is leaving the Red Bull family for the first time in his F1 career, with Alpine agreeing a deal with the team to release the star of their sister outfit, AlphaTauri. Sky Sports News understands Alpine are paying Red Bull €10m (£8.8m).

AlphaTauri now replace Alpine in having one of the three seats available on the 2023 grid, although they are expected to fill the space quickly with Mercedes reserve and impressive recent Williams stand-in, Nyck de Vries.

Gasly has one Grand Prix win to his name

“What’s easy in Formula 1? Nothing is easy!” Gasly said. “I must admit I’m very thankful to everyone involved because everybody tried their absolute best to make it happen.

“On Red Bull’s side, Christian [Horner, team boss] and Helmut [Marko, team advisor] understood how important, how big this opportunity was to me and my desire to go there and start this new adventure with Alpine.”

Gasly added: “It’s a big change in my career. I’m closing a nine-year chapter with Red Bull, having had a lot of success in younger categories as well as my five years in Formula 1, my first win, podiums.

“I’m starting a new chapter with Alpine. It’s a fresh start.”

Gasly, who had penned a new deal with AlphaTauri for 2023 in June, said he was convinced by Alpine’s form in recent years and their pace this season, with the team currently just behind McLaren in the battle for fourth.

It is his biggest career step up since his brief and unsuccessful stint alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2019.

“I had another year in my contract and it was kind of sealed for next year, then everything happened and this opportunity came up,” Gasly said. “I thought about it and I must admit straight away I knew this was the right move.”

Alpine’s chase comes to an end… and what it means for driver market

Alpine’s signing of Gasly brings an end to a remarkable off-track saga in Formula 1 – one the team never foresaw.

First, two-time world champion Alonso shocked Alpine by agreeing a deal with Aston Martin, and then came the even bigger surprise when Piastri rejected his team’s announcement and set his sights on McLaren.

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Alpine fought hard to keep the Australian but lost out in a Contract Recognition Board hearing, leaving them without a driver for 2023.

While publicly embarrassed in that chase, the team had the bonus of having the most competitive seat available on the market and plenty of potential suitors. But although Daniel Ricciardo’s name was immediately linked and Alpine tested three younger drivers in August, Gasly was always their preferred choice.

“It started probably early August and here we are in October, so it’s had its ups and downs and its ebbs and flows,” said Szafnauer. “But we got there. We worked towards making him available and it will be great next year.”

Red Bull agreed to release Gasly, but only if they had a suitable replacement lined up at AlphaTauri.

The team initially targeted IndyCar standout Colton Herta – whose F1 dream has been dented by a lack of superlicense points – before turning their attention to De Vries.

The fact Gasly is now confirmed heavily implies an announcement is forthcoming for his signature, too.

The other seats left on the market are at Haas, who are weighing up whether to keep Mick Schumacher, and at Williams, with American Logan Sargeant the favourite there.