Fernando Alonso He stood up Alpine to head to Aston Martin. Then the Enstones called Oscar Piastri, who taught them that he already had a contract with McLaren for next year. They began a casting of up to 14 pilots to replace the Asturian and the chosen one, finally, was Pierre Gasley.
The Frenchman had a contract with AlphaTauri, but after finding himself out of options to return to the first team, he decided to heed Alpine’s call to leave Red Bull’s orbit for the first time in his career. In the Abu Dhabi tests he got into the French car for the first time and his sensations could not be better.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten into this car and everything was better than expected. I am surprised in a positive way. At first everything felt different, but I adjusted very quickly. I felt much better with this car than the sensations I have had this year in AlphaTauri. Now I understand why Alpine finished fourth in the F1 World Championship as a team. I am very excited for next year“Gasly told the media after testing the Alpine.
This season has been very hard for Gasly. He finished 14th in the standings, the year with the fewest points he has scored since he was in Formula 1. Despite this, he is very confident that things will work out for him in 2023: “In 2022 I did not have the tools to be competitive. So Alpine is a new beginning for me From what I saw today, I’m sure we can impress next year. The best part is that I see the potential for fantastic results.“.
The Ocon-Gasly couple, the best possible for Alpine
otmar szafnauerhead of the Alpine team, has recognized that the Gasly option was the best since they learned of Fernando Alonso’s departure, including Piastri among the pilots who were considering to replace the Asturian.
“We solved the Piastri case well. I am happy that our next drivers are Ocon and Gasly. I think it’s a better lineup than we would have had if we had Piastri. In 2023 we will have a more experienced pair of drivers than we would have had with Piastri, but he in turn will still be very young. Time will tell if we have succeeded, but I think that we will be faster with Esteban and Pierre“, concluded the Romanian.
