Gasly must hope Herta gets super licence, otherwise no Alpine move

Pierre Gasly's future is in the hands of the FIA. Red Bull Racing will allow the French driver to leave for Alpine if Colton Herta is granted dispensation for the super license by the governing body. If not, Gasly will be held to his contract and remain active for AlphaTauri in 2023. There are no real alternatives to Herta, according to Christian Horner.

Gasly himself respects his contract, but it is no secret that the 26-year-old would much rather move to Alpine. There he would be driving for a factory team in his own country and so the opportunities there are greater for him. A return to Red Bull Racing has already been ruled out by Helmut Marko, so there is little reason for Gasly to add another season at AlphaTauri. Sergio Perez is also contracted to Red Bull for 2024.

Can Gasly leave?

Red Bull is grateful to Gasly for the past few years and is therefore willing to consider a departure. Herta is the intended successor. The American IndyCar driver is a great talent, but compared to Formula 2 and Formula 3, in the American racing class you can only earn a few points for the FIA super license. Without such a licence, you are not allowed to drive in the pinnacle of motorsport, but there are some opportunities to make exceptions.

That is what Red Bull will have to wait for now. Horner says in conversation with Autosport.com Horner says that he would rather get clarity on this issue today than tomorrow, but it could still take some time. When asked if there would be an alternative if Herta wasn't granted a dispensation, the Red Bull Racing team boss replied, "I think Pierre is doing a good job within AlphaTauri. So I don't think there will be a desire to change if there wasn't an interesting option available.”

Herta or nothing

All arrows are therefore reportedly aimed at bringing Herta in. The 22-year old driver is still under contract with Andretti, but he can get out of that contract if he can find a permanent job in Formula 1.