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Fernando Alonso's contract is up for renewal at the end of the season. The Spaniard, already 40 years old with multiple decades in the sport, has said that he wants to prolong his career for a few more years. Alpine, on the other hand, is in a quandary with a brilliant young driver in Oscar Piastri waiting in the wings for an opportunity in F1. The team has to choose between continuing with Alonso or taking a punt with Piastri.
For a long time, it did appear that the team was looking to extend Fernando Alonso's contract while Oscar Piastri was to be loaned to Williams. With Nyck De Vries taking over testing duties at Williams, however, there seems to be renewed speculation that the Grove-based team is looking to sign the Mercedes academy driver. Having said that, even if that option is open, Alpine should be looking to replace Fernando Alonso with Oscar Piastri at the end of the season.
Alpine's rise to the front is a long-term project in the making
After the first five races this season, if there is one thing that is quite clear at the moment, it is the fact that Alpine is still a long way away from being the front-running team in F1. While the regulatory changes brought a certain level of expectation from Alpine to maybe make a jump to the front of the grid, it hasn't happened.
It is exactly where it was last season – a team fighting in the midfield. Alpine does get exposed in all areas when we sit down and compare it to the front-running teams. The power unit is good but not great, the aerodynamics of the car works but is not as good as the front running teams, and then even operationally, Alpine is not as agile as some of the top running teams on the grid. For the French outfit's aspirations to reach fruition, the team has some gaping holes to fill and it is going to take some time.
If that is the case, then could keeping hold of a star driver in Fernando Alonso, who may become disgruntled with the lack of progress, be a good option? Or does it make sense to introduce a young charger within the team who will grow with the team and be ready to fight for the title when the time comes? More or less, the answer is the latter.
They cannot afford to lose Oscar Piastri
Alpine has somewhat struck a gold mine with Oscar Piastri. The Australian driver is not only good but is probably the biggest young prospect to have stepped through the junior ranks in recent years. In terms of potential, Piastri might just be capable of achieving what George Russell and Charles Leclerc have been able to at the start of their careers as his junior career success mirrors that of those two drivers.
Having said that, Alpine also needs to be careful in the way it handles Piastri. While Mercedes had the luxury of loaning Russell to Williams when the time was right, Alpine may not. Mercedes is a front-running team and will always be a favourable destination for any driver, something which Alpine is not. If any other team finds out how good Piastri is, they will want to pick him up and sign him for the future.
While Mercedes has Russell, Red Bull has Max Verstappen, McLaren has Lando Norris, and Ferrari has Leclerc, Alpine does not have a young prospect that can step up like those other drivers. While Esteban Ocon has potential, in his multiple years in the sport, he has not lived up to the hype present during his F1 debut. Alpine, in its quest to fight at the front someday, may once again be handicapped on that front.
The French team is going to take a few years to get to the front of the grid. So it makes perfect sense for the team to build itself around Piastri so that when the time is right, they have the right driver that can fight for the title.
Fernando Alonso has slowed down a step
The only reason Alpine could think about keeping hold of Fernando Alonso was if he was still the phenom from his prime years. To be fair, although the Spaniard has looked impressive this season and is probably still the quicker of the two Alpine drivers, he has clearly lost a step or two.
The Fernando Alonso of the past that was levels above his teammates in any team is just not there anymore. One contributing factor could be how good Esteban Ocon is in that car, but the most prominent factor has to be his age. Alonso has slowed down for sure and if Alpine is truly looking at a driver that could fight a Max Verstappen for the title, maybe the 40-year-old is not the one they need to groom.
There couldn't be a better time to take a punt on Piastri than now. Unfortunately for Alpine, Ocon is on a long-term contract and it leaves the team with a choice between Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri. Should the team look at it from a long-term perspective, however, it is the perfect opportunity to put the young driver in the car to replace Alonso.
