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The plot in deciding Alpine's second driver for the 2023 F1 season has thickened as four candidates will take part in the test at the Hungaroring before the Hungarian GP. According to racingnews365, the French squad will be conducting a secret evaluation test for the second seat with the team for next season.
The surprise does not end there. The four drivers that are part of the test are Nyck de Vries, Jack Doohan, Mick Schumacher, and Colton Herta. Earlier reports had even suggested that Sebastian Vettel was also expected to appear on the test to evaluate his future with the team, but it appears that he's not taking part in the test.
Nyck De Vries, on his part, is a former Formula-E World Champion and F2 World Champion. The driver made a splendid F1 debut with Williams at the Italian GP.
Jack Doohan is the young F2 rookie who has been very impressive in his first season in the category. Alpine wanted to give the Australian another season in the category to develop but after what happened with Oscar Piastri, the team might take a punt on him as well.
Mick Schumacher is almost certainly going to lose his seat at Haas by the looks of it. The German has been driving very well recently but has somehow not moved the needle for team boss Guenther Steiner.
Colton Herta is a driver who has been on the shortlist for three teams now. The American was monitored for a seat by McLaren as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo. He was in line to replace Pierre Gasly but the super license points put paid to that one. Now with Alpine also showing interest, it does appear that the driver would be the one to keep an eye on.
In all of this, Nico Hülkenberg, whose name was thrown around as well, has apparently not made the cut by the looks of it.
How did Alpine land in this situation?
It can be argued that the entire domino effect kickstarted when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from F1. This left a seat open at Aston Martin that was taken up by Fernando Alonso. The French squad then had a seat vacant and the team moved to place the young Oscar Piastri in that seat.
However, once it was revealed that Oscar Piastri was moving to McLaren by the Contract Recognition Board, Alpine was stuck with no option but to check out what prospects are available in the market. All four of these drivers should do well in the team. It will be interesting to see who the team commits to and what the future then holds for the team.
