Pierre Gasly talks about the “chaos” that led to his move from AlphaTauri to the Alpine F1 team in 2023.
When Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from F1 in July, Pierre Gasly was part of the drivers’ merry-go-round caused by it.
Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso has joined Aston Martin F1 to replace Sebastian Vettel, forcing the Alpine F1 team to announce Oscar Piastri as Alonso’s replacement.
However, Oscar Piastri’s outright denial of the move sparked a tug-of-war between the Alpine F1 team and McLaren, which was eventually resolved by the FIA contract approval committee, which ruled in McLaren’s favour. rice field.
The Alpine F1 team then turned their attention to Pierre Gasly, who was under contract with Red Bull/AlphaTauri until the end of 2023.
Asked if he had considered a move to the Alpine F1 team before Fernando Alonso’s shock move, Gasly told GPFans: “No, but I was always watching McCatte.”
“At some point it seemed more and more likely that Daniel[Ricciardo]would keep his McLaren seat. We were supposed to terminate the contract.”
“Fernando was also offered a one-year contract extension[with Alpine]and at that point all opportunities should have opened up in 2024.”
“Already signed with AlphaTauri until the end of my Red Bull contract, but the moment Fernando left, the whole picture changed completely.
“That triggered the whole chaos that followed, and in the end it was a positive chaos for me, because it gave me a great opportunity for a very exciting collaboration with Alpine next year.”
“It was definitely unexpected, but I don’t think it will be the case next season.”
“I’ve been talking to Alpine all along. They’ve had an interest in me in the past and they’ve been keeping an eye on my career.”
“But it became tangible from the moment Fernando pulled the trigger and moved to Aston Martin.
Category: F1 / Pierre Guthrie / Alpine