Pierre Gasly will not be present at the F1 Italian Grand Prix media day amid rumors that he is in negotiations for a potential switch to Alpine.
The AlphaTauri team confirmed that following doctors’ advice, Pierre Gasly will not be on the track on Thursday as he is currently ill and that the driver will not be available to answer questions from the media. It is unclear if he will be able to participate in Friday’s practice given that they have a backup driver Liam Lawson.
Following Fernando Alonso’s departure for Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri’s departure for McLaren, the Frenchman has emerged as Alpine’s top target to complete their driver lineup for 2023.
Since Esteban Ocon has already committed to the French squad, Alpine is aiming for a lineup of two French drivers—a pair that, to be honest, hasn’t always had the healthiest of relationships.
However, this huge change for the F1 2023 season depends on American IndyCar driver Colton Herta’s ability to obtain a superlicence, which would allow him to replace Gasly in the AlphaTauri team.
“That’s the key element… We aren’t going to replace Pierre unless we have something exciting to put in that car,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner remarked concerning the situation at their sister team AlphaTauri.
