The signing of Fernando Alonso by Aston Martin and the subsequent Alpine crisis have given an unexpected boost to the driver market for 2023. After losing the Spaniard and Oscar Piastri, Alpine now points to Pierre Gasly.
Alpine has thought about the best way to shelve the crisis that began in early August with the departure of Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and the already confirmed signing of Oscar Piastri by McLaren. And that way is to have an entirely French driver pairing by 2023.
And it is that, despite the fact that Daniel Ricciardo was the first to appear in the pools as a substitute for Fernando Alonso in Alpine, the reality is that the Anglo-French formation wants Pierre Gasly as the main driver to accompany Esteban Ocon next year.
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In the hands of Helmut Marko
However, Pierre Gasly has a valid contract with AlphaTauri for the 2023 season. This leaves his departure in the hands of Helmut Marko, who must decide whether to release a driver who has long wanted to disassociate himself from the Red Bull structure.
“We have a valid contract for 2023, but in the meantime there are talks,” Helmut Marko himself confirmed to Sky Germany. “If our conditions are met, we will not stand in Gasly’s way.”. It would be a dream come true for him to drive for a French official team. But not all the conditions have been met yet.
But before releasing Pierre Gasly, Helmut Marko needs certain guarantees that he will get an attractive driver to take over from the Frenchman, especially considering that Yuki Tsunoda does not finish convincing.
Colton Herta and Mick Schumacher
And the first option right now is Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport driver in IndyCar and pointed out by many as the great American hope in Formula 1.
“The United States is an important market. (Colton Herta) already did a Formula 1 test, it was good. I don’t want to go into details. Let’s wait and see how this develops,” Helmut Marko acknowledged when asked about it.
Michael Andretti has been trying to have a team in Formula 1 for some time and from the beginning he has been clear that Colton Herta would be his driver in that case. In addition, the 22-year-old American is McLaren F1 test driver and he has already completed a private test with them to start his real contact with the premier class.
It remains to be seen if Michael Andretti would be willing to release his young pearl, but what seems clear is that Helmut Marko is not interested in another young promise that is making a lot of noise in this market: Mike Schumacher.
“It is not a problem for us. He is, or was, a Ferrari junior. That is why we have never dealt with Mick Schumacher. We have our own program. Of course, we prefer our own people.”Marko has limited himself to saying about a driver who will leave Ferrari at the end of this season and whose future at Haas is up in the air.
Photos: Red Bull Content Poo