Pierre Gasly will also drive for AlphaTauri in Formula 1 in 2023. The racing team officially announced this on Friday morning: “We are pleased to be able to confirm that Pierre will stay with us in 2023,” said team boss Franz Tost in a statement. It will be Gasly’s sixth full season in Formula 1.
The Frenchman’s extension is one of Formula 1’s worst-kept secrets.
Franz Tost had recently emphasized in Canada: “He will be a driver with us, AlphaTauri, in 2023. That is 100 percent confirmed.” Now the highly official, written confirmation followed.
Gasly already has a valid contract with Red Bull, which expires in 2023. It is unclear how the French will then continue, as the door to promotion to Red Bull is definitely closed with the contract extension with Sergio Perez until 2024. As such, Gasly will be linked with a move to another team once his contract expires.
At the end of the 2017 season, Gasly made his debut for the then Toro Rosso team and has been loyal to the racing team ever since – apart from half a year with the parent team Red Bull, after which he was demoted back to the junior racing team.
Since then, however, he has attracted attention with strong performances and has already been able to climb onto the podium three times. His moment of glory came in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, when he celebrated his first and only Grand Prix victory to date.
“I’m proud of the journey we’ve had together and the progress we’ve made,” Gasly said of the past five years.
“He is definitely in the group of the best drivers”
Team boss Tost praises: “He is definitely in the group of the best and most competitive drivers in Formula 1 and has proven his skills throughout the time with us. Pierre can undoubtedly play an important role in the team in the coming year will have a successful season.”
“It’s up to us to equip him with a competitive car so that he can continue to deliver excellent results,” said Tost.
In 2022, however, things have not yet gone smoothly. Gasly has only scored three points and is only eleventh overall with 16 points. “The new rules this year have brought new challenges for us,” he says. “But the fact that we can now plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good working basis for the future.”
In all probability, Gasly’s teammate will also be called Yuki Tsunoda in 2023, whom Marko practically confirmed in the same breath at the beginning of June. The door for the five Red Bull juniors in Formula 2 – Liam Lawson, Jehan Daruvala, Dennis Hauger, Ayumu Iwasa and the currently suspended Jüri Vips – is closed.