Since it has been rumored that the Alpine F1 Company is interested in hiring Frenchman Pierre Gasly to replace Fernando Alonso next season, the team is on the cusp of a rather difficult position.
This comes as the Frenchman, who has a contract with AlphaTauri was heard in a leaked video clip saying, “I’m still working on the final aspects of the contract.”
While McLaren and Alpine wait to learn the Contract Recognition Board’s decision on Oscar Piastri’s case, Pierre Gasly’s name has begun to surface in the Formula One silly season rumor mill.
Recently, a social media video footage showed Gasly, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell conversing as they made their way to the drivers’ parade following Ferrari’s review of the Belgian Grand Prix began to circulate. I’m still working on the contract’s final elements, the Frenchman can be heard stating clearly.
This sparked widespread rumors that the AlphaTauri driver may have been talking about a potential Alpine deal. This week, Alpine “initiated inquiries” about the Frenchman with Red Bull, according to a report from Sky Sports News. Gasly did, however, state earlier this year that he will compete for AlphaTauri in 2023.
Sky Sports News knows that Gasly might leave the Red Bull group earlier if Alpine paid a fee, though.
Russell explicitly says “married” before Gasly’s “contract” remarks in the same video clip. This was the actual background of the video, according to the AlphaTauri driver’s remarks on Thursday.
“If you guys would have any idea the subject we were talking about, you would probably laugh,” Gasly said.
“Definitely, I can guarantee you it was nothing about Formula One… George was talking about marriage, or wedding things, so you can figure out it wasn’t F1 related.”
Gasly acknowledged that several friends had shown him the video, and he added that his response had been “more like laughing about it and rather astonished how a topic can be strayed from its source.”
According to Dr. Helmut Marko, Gasly is free to leave Scuderia AlphaTauri as long as Alpine honors the terms of his recently-signed 2023 contract. While having an all-French driver lineup for the only French F1 team would be ideal, but it could turn out to be a nightmare for the Enstone-based outfit.
When Gasly was questioned about the Alpine rumors during the most recent Belgian Grand Prix, the Frenchman chose not to respond when asked if an offer had been made.
“At the moment I don’t really want to make too many comments because I haven’t seen anything,” Gasly said. “The most important is to perform with the car that I have, and then we’ll see.”
