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Ever since Fernando Alonso announced that he would be leaving Alpine after this season, the team has been searching for a replacement. There have been many candidates for the seat and one such driver who has a very good link with the team has turned out to be Pierre Gasly. He has been part of the Red Bull family for a long time, currently racing in their sister team, AlphaTauri. Laurent Rossi of Alpine spoke about Gasly's future with the team for the first time during an interview with F1:
“There are plenty of good ones. Helmut (Marko) mentioned Pierre – why wouldn’t you? He’s a very good driver, he would be a good candidate for us."
The team has been facing a crisis ever since Alonso announced his move to Aston Martin next season out of the blue. Their first choice to replace the Spaniard was Oscar Piastri, who is currently racing in Formula 2. Soon, though, Piastri denied the same, saying that they did not have any contracts signed. Since then, Alpine have analyzed many drivers to fill the seat. Meanwhile, Piastri was signed by McLaren for next season.
Alpine reveal that they need an experienced driver to replace Alonso
Fernando Alonso is a two-time world champion and he has channeled that experience into helping Alpine upgrade and score points. He has been amazing this season with 10 consecutive races where he scored points, a streak which broke during the Italian Grand Prix as he had to retire from the race. However, with him gone, the team will require someone similar to help them develop and bag points.
“We don’t want to rush into the decision. It’s a process Otmar is leading as he knows what is best for the team. We take input from our engineers. The driver is important, but the car is the most important by far."
Alpine had also said earlier that they are looking forward to winning a World Championship in the next five years. So the team being focussed on the car more than the driver does not come as a surprise.
There have been many drivers that the team has thought about. One of which is Daniel Ricciardo, who doesn't have a seat with any team next year as his contract with McLaren was terminated on mutual grounds. He was part of the team when they were still branded as Renault. But that is less likely to happen considering his recent performances.
