Who should partner Gasly at Alpine in F1 2025? Our writers have their say

With Pierre Gasly securing a new Formula 1 deal with Alpine, there’s one fewer remaining seat to fill in the puzzle which is the 2025 grid.

It’s no secret that the team has made a late push to lure Carlos Sainz, but the Spaniard has several offers that mean the French squad may have to look elsewhere.

So who are the best options? Our writers have their say.

Filip Cleeren: Sainz the obvious option if they can convince him…

For me, doing everything possible to sign Carlos Sainz feels like a no-brainer, and it seems like it took until F1’s favourite paddock dweller Flavio Briatore coming on board as an advisor for Alpine and Luca de Meo to go flat out to sign the Spaniard.

Sainz was facing a choice between Sauber/Audi and Williams, and his reluctance to make a quick decision suggests neither party is particularly appealing, especially after vacating a race-winning seat.

Sainz being dropped from Ferrari to make room for Lewis Hamilton was very harsh on him, having made a solid pairing with Charles Leclerc that combines speed, experience and technical nous.

Alpine can certainly benefit from Sainz’s technical input, as team principal Bruno Famin and incoming technical director David Sanchez face a big rebuild job over the coming months.

So, not only would it get a driver with five poles and three race wins, but also someone who has seen first-hand how a juggernaut Ferrari has turned its car project around over the past few years.

Perhaps the question is more whether or not Sainz should choose Alpine than the other way around, and – as is the case with Audi and Williams – it will be one giant leap of faith ahead of the 2026 rules reset.

If Alpine does go the customer power unit route with Mercedes, that will be one giant question mark off the table and make the team more appealing. But he might yet choose for Audi’s works status, or have more belief in James Vowles’s ambitious plans.

Alex Kalinauckas: It’s time to give Doohan a chance

Jack Doohan, Alpine A523

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Should Carlos Sainz spurn Alpine’s advances, the team should look to correct the matter of the last time a successful Spanish F1 driver decided it wasn’t worth his time and promote one of its junior drivers instead.

For Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri in 2022, read, with acknowledgements to the slightly differing circumstances, Sainz and Jack…