Pierre Gasly will switch to Alpine for the 2023 Formula 1 season and be replaced at AlphaTauri by Nyck de Vries.
Alpine announced on Saturday morning ahead of final Japanese Grand Prix practice at Suzuka that it had signed Gasly on a multi-year deal, and official confirmation from AlphaTauri that it had secured De Vries in is place followed 10 minutes later.
“I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter in my Formula 1 career,” said Gasly.
“Driving for a team that has French roots is something very special. I know the strengths of Alpine having raced against them over the past couple of years and, clearly, their progress and ambition is very impressive.”
Alpine targeted Gasly to partner Esteban Ocon after it failed to re-sign Fernando Alonso and lost Oscar Piastri to McLaren.
To get Gasly, Alpine needed to agree a deal with Red Bull to release Gasly from his 2023 contract, as the Frenchman was confirmed to drive for AlphaTauri again next season.
Aside from any financial compensation Red Bull’s only other condition was that it needed to find a suitable replacement for Gasly, which was initially tipped to be IndyCar driver Colton Herta before it became clear he would not qualify for a superlicence.
Red Bull then turned, unexpectedly, to De Vries.
The Formula 2 and Formula E champion was a Mercedes F1 reserve driver and considered the favourite for a 2023 Williams drive, before scoring points on a very impressive and unexpected substitute appearance at the Italian Grand Prix.
Red Bull moved quickly to gauge De Vries’s interest and secure a deal for him to race for AlphaTauri next season alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
“After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it,” said De Vries.
“I’ve had a lot of chances to experience the 2022 car this year and I think that has put me in a great position for the upcoming season.”
The moves bring an end to Gasly’s long-running Red Bull association and a strong connection to the AlphaTauri team that was formerly known as Toro Rosso.
Gasly has been part of the Red Bull set-up since joining as a junior when he won the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2013.
He made his F1 debut with Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso at the end of the 2017 season, briefly raced for Red Bull Racing in 2019 before being demoted halfway through the year, and has been back with Toro Rosso ever since.
Gasly led the team as it was rebranded AlphaTauri for 2020 and famously won the Italian Grand Prix that year. All three of his podiums and 12 of his 103 grands prix starts have come with the team.
“I wish to thank Red Bull as this marks the end of our nine-year journey together,” said Gasly.
“It is thanks to their trust and support that I became a Formula 1 driver, and what we’ve achieved with Scuderia AlphaTauri over the last years has been very special.”
2023 F1 driver line-up so far
Red Bull: Max Verstappen/Sergio Perez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc/Carlos Sainz
Mercedes: George Russell/Lewis Hamilton
McLaren: Lando Norris/Oscar Piastri
Alpine: Esteban Ocon/Pierre Gasly
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas/Zhou Guanyu
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso/Lance Stroll
Haas: Kevin Magnussen/tba
AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda/Nyck de Vries
Williams: Alex Albon/tba
