Only official status was missing, it came from Japan: the Dutch Formula E specialist alongside Tsunoda, the Frenchman will be with Ocon in the “home” team
by our correspondent Mario Salvini
08 October
– suzuka (japan)
The game is done: two of the pawns that had to fit in the grooves of the F1 2023 grid have fallen into place. Pierre Gasly is the new Alpine driver, replacing Fernando Alonso. And there were now very few doubts about this. As well as on the fact that Nyck de Vries would come to replace him in AlphaTauri. The two announcements arrived at the same time. Also because formally Gasly would have had another year of contract with the second team of the Red Bull galaxy. It is no coincidence that in its official communication Alpine, through the mouth of its team principal Otmar Szafnauer, directly thanks Red Bull.
market background
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The rumors in the paddock speak of a collaborative attitude: in Salzburg they know they have not treated Gasly particularly well. Which in all these nine years in the house has never raised problems. “He has proven to be the most loyal rider there is,” a senior team manager said last night. All the way: “I want to thank Red Bull, it’s thanks to them that I became an F1 driver,” he said. But now for him there is the Alpine. “Driving for a team that has French roots is very special for me”.
gasly in … national
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What’s more, as Renault CEO Luca De Meo pointed out: “Our roots are in France and Alpine was born in Normandy, so, being Gasly born and raised in Normandy, it’s a kind of sign of destiny” . And while his counterpart, CEO of Alpine, Laurent Rossi, specified that “sure, we are happy that he is French, but he could have been of any nationality, we took him after carefully examining all the possibilities, because he is good and always has points ”, De Meo himself, Italian, underlined how the team, in the next few years, with Gasly and Ocon will be all French:“ We hope to become a symbol of the pride of France ”.