Gasly’s Alpine deal inches closer as driver market dominoes fall
The F1 2023 driver line-up is nearing completion and Gasly’s expected switch from AlphaTauri to Alpine is one of the few remaining major changes.
Nyck de Vries is teed up by AlphaTauri as his replacement and the whole saga could be closed within days.
“There are talks,” Red Bull consultant Marko told the Austrian TV ORF.
“And we hope to have a clear situation by next weekend. I assume that should be decided by Suzuka. Then can we say what’s the deal.
“First the Gasly thing has to be clarified then it will be decided who comes to AlphaTauri.
“For AlphaTauri, it must not be a deterioration. That means it must be a high-profile and fast driver.”
AlphaTauri are Red Bull’s sister team and would require a fee from Alpine to allow Gasly to depart before the end of his contract.
Gasly will replace Fernando Alonso, who is moving to Aston Martin, at Alpine and will partner Esteban Ocon in an all-French line-up at a French team.
Oscar Piastri was Alpine’s No 1 choice but will forego his contract with them to instead join McLaren.
De Vries has emerged as the expected new driver for AlphaTauri after they failed to land US IndyCar star Colton Herta, who doesn’t possess enough superlicence points to qualify for an F1 seat.
De Vries has impressed this season as a reserve driver for Williams, even beating their regular driver Nicholas Latifi at the Italian Grand Prix.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
