Pierre Gasly could replace Fernando Alonso at Alpine for 2023 F1 season despite existing contract with AlphaTauri: Reports

Pierre Gasly might be in line to replace Fernando Alonso at Alpine. Recent reports reveal that the French driver has an exit clause in place that states that he could move to a team higher up the grid if he is offered a seat with that team. If Alpine shows interest in hiring the AlphaTauri driver, then it could trigger an exit clause in Gasly's contract.

All of this began when Sebastian Vettel's retirement opened up a slot at Aston Martin that was hastily picked up by Fernando Alonso. Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri had already signed a pre-contract with McLaren (the final decision on that is still up in the air), which left the team looking for options for the seat alongside Esteban Ocon.

There were initially rumors that Daniel Ricciardo could be the front runner for the seat at Alpine but there were reservations from the top management about signing the Australian. Ricciardo abruptly called time on his association with the team when he moved to McLaren in the 2021 F1 season and that had not gone down well with the Enstone-based squad at the time. To add to this, Ricciardo's form at McLaren has not been great, to say the least.

This is where Pierre Gasly steps into the picture. The Frenchman has been one of the more consistent performers in the sport and has been able to show how good he can be with a good car at his disposal. If Alpine does come calling, it appears as though Red Bull would be willing to let him go. The team does not appear to have any plans of promoting him to the top team and if that is the case, it won't stop him from stepping up in his career.

Especially because there is clear precedence for something like this that happened in the 2018 F1 season when Carlos Sainz was able to move from Torro Rosso to Renault mid-season.

---

Pierre Gasly joining Alpine would mean two French drivers in a French team

Pierre Gasly signing with Alpine could even be a landmark event in the history of French motorsport as after almost four decades, Alpine (Renault) will have two French drivers. The last time it happened was in the early 1980s when Renault fielded Rene Arnoux and Alain Prost, two French drivers that would go on to become multiple race winners in their own right.

If Pierre Gasly can strike a deal with Alpine, then the team will have two race winners as both Ocon and Gasly have already picked up a race win in their careers. Gasly has been a consistent performer for AlphaTauri ever since he was demoted from Red Bull and could prove to be a valuable asset for Alpine next season.