Why Gasly is the best and worst choice for Alpine in 2023

Alpine did it to themselves

Alpine has forced itself into a difficult corner. With a fourth place in the constructors' standings, you'd expect there to be a lot of enthusiasm for the seat alongside Ocon in 2023. Yet Fernando Alonso turned down the offer from the French racing team and Piastri left as well. Internally, there are still a number of things to be arranged in order to bring drivers in and keep them for longer, but first the driver for 2023.

At first glance, Daniel Ricciardo seemed to be the biggest name for Alpine. With the departure of Alonso, the team's intended frontrunner, who ironically replaced Ricciardo as the team's frontrunner, is leaving. That is also where the problem lies for this renewed cooperation. Too much has happened in the meantime.

Ricciardo may be the biggest name left with eight race wins to his name, but that same Ricciardo left Renault without mercy for rival McLaren. There he also left alongside Lando Norris, so as a team it is questionable how much value you get for your money from the 33-year-old driver. Ricciardo himself seems to be hinting at an adventure in America.

Gasly may leave Red Bull

Gasly is a name that is often mentioned and the fact that Helmut Marko is speaking so openly about it indicates the stage that the potential move has reached. Talks between the two parties are already underway and it may just be a matter of time before the deal is announced.

On the face of it, Gasly is a prime candidate. Although he failed alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing (who hasn't?), he has proved a constant factor for a mid-tier team at Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri. A move up to the sub-top of the order would not be out of place given his status, especially as he is at a dead end within Red Bull with Sergio Perez under contract at Red Bull Racing until 2024.

Gasly's numbers in recent seasons also speak in his favour. Since returning to AlphaTauri, he has consistently outperformed his teammate. He has beaten Daniil Kvyat in qualifying (averaging over two-tenths difference per qualifying session) and in the race in a season and a half, and Yuki Tsunoda has also had to give way often enough. In 2021, the Japanese driver only qualified once before Gasly.

The Frenchman still needs to work on his racecraft. At Red Bull Racing, he was hampered by his inability to control a difficult car. Overtaking suddenly proved more difficult and so did driving on the limit in qualifying. Those flaws are less noticeable at AlphaTauri, but will come under increased scrutiny at Alpine.

Ocon not waiting for Gasly

Gasly is the best alternative after the departure of Alonso and Piastri, but there is one big problem: his relationship with Esteban Ocon. Ocon himself suggested that his friend Mick Schumacher could become an Alpine driver. Ocon knows that Schumacher has not shown enough to deserve a step up, but anything is better in Ocon's eyes than the arrival of his former childhood friend.

In Gasly and Ocon's younger years, the two were buddies. However, an hour of listening to the two men's Beyond the Grid podcast will tell you that they no longer visit each other. The struggle in karting became fatal to their friendship. In fact, the two are said to hate each other these days.

The two have plenty of recriminations back and forth and we will never know how it really went. However, you have a situation where two Frenchmen want to become the top driver in France and the frontrunner of the French team in F1. Appointing a driver duo with such strained relations beforehand is asking for trouble.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton are a good example. They were also good friends and even survived the karting period. Rosberg realised that Lewis was simply better, but in F1 Rosberg was older and more cunning. He wanted to win at all costs and he succeeded in 2016. The two no longer shook hands in a very friendly way either.

However, that relationship broke down when they joined a team together. Gasly and Ocon their relationship is already broken. A sober person would say you should never put these two together, but it seems Alpine doesn't have much of a choice. A good conversation between the two is advisable beforehand, but the question is how long it will take for old frustrations to resurface.

Alternatives Alpine does not have

When you look at the alternatives, however, you find that Alpine simply has no choice before 2023. It has either forced itself into a corner where it has to take a driver duo that will fight each other and cause more damage within the team, or a driver duo that is simply not strong enough.

There are already doubts about Ocon as the team's frontrunner, so putting a young talent alongside him is too big a risk for a team that is fourth in the constructors' standings and aiming to join the top three. Mick Schumacher is no longer a rookie, but in his F1 career he has not yet shown that he is ready for the next step. He did not even beat Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

Guanyu Zhou is available, but the former Alpine junior does not (yet) have the qualities to take Alpine to the next level. Other available drivers with F1 experience are Antonio Giovinazzi and Nico Hulkenberg. Giovinazzi has been without F1 for a year and never really convinced at Alfa Romeo. Hulkenberg was a fast driver, but is also 35 years old and hes been without a seat in F1 for three years.

Where the names above are already gambles that Alpine would rather not take, that is especially true for the extreme outsiders. Think of F2 championship leader Felipe Drugovich, Frenchman Theo Pourchaire (though part of Sauber Academy) or Alpine junior Jack Doohan. All unproven in F1 and no world stars in the entry classes either.

Two final names out of the hat: Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries. Vandoorne is Formula E World Champion and has experience in F1. It has been a while, but the Belgian still has the speed. De Vries has an advantage over his southern neighbour, despite a lesser FE season. De Vries already tested an F1 car in 2022 and has been linked to Williams for two years. A step up seems a bit too much.

The F1 fan is a sucker

The whole Alonso and Piastri saga has put Alpine in a very difficult position. In September, the top drivers will no longer be available and the only one tied to the team is not convincing as the real number one either. It is a choice between two evils. If Alpine chooses Gasly (which it seems they will), spectacle is guaranteed and Otmar Szafnauer finds himself, not for the first time, in a team where the drivers can push each other into the wall.

This article was written by Tim Kraaij for the Dutch edition of GP Blog.