Alpine confirms Gasly as Alonso’s F1 replacement for 2023

The pair will form the first fulltime all-French lineup at a Renault-owned team since Alain Prost and Rene Arnoux were partners at the original works outfit in 1982.

“I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter in my F1 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.”

Gasly and Ocon will be together for at least two years, since Ocon is contracted until 2024. Both men have already scored their first wins, with Gasly triumphing for AlphaTauri at Monza in 2020, and Ocon in Budapest the following year.

Alpine began its search for a driver after Fernando Alonso’s shock move to Aston Martin was announced on the day after the Hungarian GP, and it quickly became clear that reserve driver and potential replacement Oscar Piastri was committed to McLaren.

Gasly’s emergence as a serious candidate, despite his ongoing Red Bull contract, was first revealed by Motorsport.com on the weekend of the Belgian GP. The suggestion was met with some scepticism in the paddock, not least because former childhood friends Ocon and Gasly are widely known to have had some personal issues over the years.

However, that challenge was quickly dismissed by Renault and Alpine’s top management, who instead had to focus their efforts on getting Gasly out of his AlphaTauri deal.

Initially parent team Red Bull was only interested in releasing him if IndyCar star Colton Herta could get a superlicence and thus be able to take the AlphaTauri seat. When that possibility receded Nyck de Vries emerged as the alternative candidate for the Faenza team.

Both deals have been in place for some weeks, but it has taken time for all the legal and contractual details to be addressed, so that the moves could be announced together over the Japanese GP weekend. Gasly will cut his ties after with Red Bull after nine years with the drinks company.

He made his debut with the then Scuderia Toro Rosso team at the 2017 Malaysian GP and spent half a season with Red Bull Racing in 2019, before being relegated to the junior team after disappointing results alongside Max Verstappen.

It was clear within the camp that Gasly would never…