Alpine have reportedly agreed a deal with Red Bull to sign Pierre Gasly as a driver for 2023 and end his AlphaTauri deal a year earlier than planned.
The Frenchman's future is unknown after the door was closed to a move back to Red Bull after an ill-fated spell with the top team in 2019. Since moving back to AlphaTauri he has impressed, but it has not been enough to see him given a second shot.
So he has been considering his options elsewhere, and it appears he has found one of them in particular to be an attractive one. He is contracted to AlphaTauri until the end of 2023, but could be on the move sooner if Red Bull allow.
According to The Race, Alpine have agreed a deal with his current employers. It would see them release Gasly from his contract a year earlier than planned so he can race for the Enstone outfit, who would compensate them with a fee.
Alpine have Esteban Ocon tied down but still have a second seat free after Fernando Alonso announced he would be leaving for Aston Martin and Oscar Piastri turned down the chance to replace him. The young Aussie's future is now being decided by the Contracts Recognition Board (CRB).
Those proceedings will decide which of the contracts he has signed – with Alpine and McLaren – takes precedence. But no matter what the outcome, Piastri is not expected to remain with his current employers.
If McLaren get a favourable ruling then he is simply expected to join them with little fuss. If Alpine win the case, he is still expected to leave for their midfield rivals anyway, but a compensation fee would have to be agreed.
Gasly was coy about his future when asked, telling reporters on Thursday: "For next year, currently, I'm contracted for AlphaTauri. Everybody is aware of my contract situation. For now, nothing has changed."
Footage showing the Frenchman chatting to Charles Leclerc and George Russell got fans talking when he was overheard telling them: "I'm still working on the final details of the contract." But when asked about that, he claimed that it had nothing to do with F1 and was actually about "marriage or a wedding thing".
