The Formula 1 driver market was firmly kicked into gear earlier this month when Fernando Alonso announced that he would be leaving Alpine at the end of the 2022 season.
The two-time Formula 1 World Champion has signed a multi-year deal with Aston Martin, replacing the outgoing Sebastian Vettel, who has opted to retire at the end of the current year.
Oscar Piastri was expected to fill the vacancy at Alpine, until he rejected the drive through a public notice on social media.
The situation is set to be resolved at a Contract Recognition Board on Monday, after which Alpine will know if it has his services for 2023 or not.
But should it lose the Australian driver (likely to McLaren, with Daniel Ricciardo now confirmed to be leaving), where would Alpine look?
It has been linked with signing Ricciardo or Haas’ Mick Schumacher, but a report from Autosport suggests that AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly is a candidate for the seat.
Gasly is under contract at the Red Bull sister team until the end of 2023, after which it is widely expected that he would explore options outside the energy drink-backed outfit’s umbrella.
Gasly has long been linked with the Alpine squad given his French background, and reports now state that the Enstone-based squad is looking at the 26-year-old for next year.
The Frenchman has performed strongly for AlphaTauri ever since his demotion back to the team midway through the 2019 season, following a run of underwhelming results at Red Bull.
Should Red Bull allow Gasly to walk away from his deal early, it would see Alpine have an all-French line-up, with Esteban Ocon currently contracted until the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
Herta in line for AlphaTauri F1 role?
Autosport also reports that should Gasly make the switch to Alpine, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko could look to acquire IndyCar’s Colton Herta.
Herta has been heavily linked with a future F1 move in recent months, and is currently performing development duties for the McLaren team.
The young star races for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar, and has been listed as a prime candidate for an F1 seat if Andretti manages to form its own team on the grid, which it is currently intending to do.
Yuki Tsunoda currently occupies the other seat at AlphaTauri drive, however he is not yet signed up for the 2023 season.
Red Bull has several juniors currently competing in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
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