In Canada last week, team principal Franz Tost made it very clear that Gasly was “100% confirmed” at AlphaTauri 2023. a very short answer, and smiling: “You have a valid contract. There is nothing more to say.”
The uproar it generated seemed surprising. It was not new information that Gasly had a contract for 2023. Back in March, he told Motorsport.com in an interview: “It is no longer confidential that I have one more year on my contract after this one.”
However, Tost’s comments last week and this Friday’s announcement from AlphaTauri seem like big steps forward in the driver market narrative heading into 2023.
Although Gasly was under contract for next year, it is important to note that the deals have always been with Red Bull Racing, not specifically AlphaTauri. That has given Red Bull the freedom to place him in any of its teams it sees fit, hence the ease with which he returned to Toro Rosso in 2019 after his difficult 12-race stint with the main outfit.
Looking ahead to the new season, Sergio Pérez’s future was going to be key in this year’s driver market. Red Bull was going to wait until later to make any decision on the matter, and the Mexican’s first year alongside Max Verstappen (in 2021) had been nothing to write home about. If it had stayed the same in 2022, Gasly would probably have knocked on the door and knocked it down to secure the return to Red Bull that he craves.
But Perez has been in brilliant form so far this year, which has led to a very quick decision on his new contract. In the days following his victory in Monaco, Red Bull confirmed Perez not only for 2023, but surprisingly also for 2024.
That news was seen as a blow to Pierre Gasly, who in 2024 could have told Red Bull “use me or lose me” – a scenario that Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko even agreed was likely in March.
At the Azerbaijan GP, Gasly said it was “logical” for Red Bull to renew Perez, who “checks all the boxes” for what the team is looking for in a team-mate for Max Verstappen. He added that “beyond 2023, I consider all options.” By then, it will have the kind of reputation and freedom in the pilot market that is sure to make it a very hot property.
But precisely for this reason it was important for AlphaTauri to make it clear that Pierre Gasly is not going anywhere for next season, when the silly season , a time of transfer rumors, is about to accelerate.
Gasly has been one of the most consistent drivers in F1 for the last two years. He has won a race, been on the podium and frequently scored points for the small team he leads. For any team looking for an experienced driver to join their lineup, he ticks all the criteria they could ever want.
His only chance at a top team may have passed, but the same thing happened with Pérez at McLaren F1 in 2013; and Checo made it back to the front after years of hard work and mid-grid displays not unlike Gasly’s.
One of the most obvious teams Gasly could have been linked to is McLaren given the uncertainty over Daniel Ricciardo’s future. Like Gasly, Ricciardo’s contract runs until the end of 2023, but recent comments from McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown , including confirmation that there were clauses in his contract allowing an early exit, cast doubt on the Australian was to continue in Woking next year.
Brown said in Canada that his relationship with Ricciardo had “never been better” and stressed that McLaren’s focus had to be on giving its drivers a better car, something Lando Norris was quite forthright about after last year’s difficult race.
“Things could be better,” Brown further said of Ricciardo’s performance, “but we’re going to work hard and make sure they do in the future.”
As for other options for next year, Gasly didn’t have much else that might have appealed to him. Aston Martin and Haas are the only teams that are in real doubt right now, as Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher respectively near the end of their contracts. Oscar Piastri seems to be the replacement for Nicholas Latifi at Williams, on loan due to lack of space at Alpine, where Fernando Alonso will continue.
But this Friday’s confirmation is nonetheless a show of public faith between Gasly and AlphaTauri, putting to rest any rumors that it could change the air. Gasly said in the press release confirming to him for next year that “being able to plan our development with the team for the next 18 months is a good base to work for the future.”
But the confirmation does much more than that, it confirms: it also outlines an 18-month period for him to give the best showing he can to get a seat on a bigger team if he wants to realize his aspirations of being at the front of the league. grill.
The 2024 season is the time when things can really move in the transfer market, given the huge number of drivers who are out of contract at the end of that season. For Gasly, that’s when conversations about his future become more intriguing as new opportunities arise.
