One of the teams on the Formula 1 grid who are yet to confirm either of their drivers for the 2025 season are Alpine.
Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are out of contract at the end of the year, although it’s understood that Alpine may have a performance-related clause in Gasly’s contract that could see him stay beyond this campaign.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has had his say on what the French manufacturer should do.
Half of the current grid is approaching the end of their current contracts and will be assessing their options for next year.
With new regulations arriving in F1 in 2026, each driver knows they have a really important decision to make that’s going to involve some guesswork.
As a works team, Alpine should be well placed to tackle the new ruleset although their performances over the past few months haven’t suggested that they’re in the best position to move forward.
However, Steiner has said that if he was in charge of Alpine, he would be doing everything he can to sign Yuki Tsunoda from Visa Cash App RB.
The £15,000-a-week driver is starring in his fourth season on the grid and appears perfectly placed to move on in the summer if the right offer comes in.
READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB driver Yuki Tsunoda’s life outside F1 from height to parents
Guenther Steiner would sign Yuki Tsunoda for Alpine
Alpine are at a crossroads and their current driver pairing isn’t in the most stable position eight races into the season.
Gasly and Ocon made contact heading into Portier in Monaco and that appears to have been the final nail in Ocon’s Alpine coffin.
Ocon is expected to move on at the end of the season and it’s still yet to be seen whether Gasly will follow him out of the exit door.
He’s only scored one point this season and while Alpine are happier to retain the 28-year-old than his teammate, he might be exploring his options.
Steiner has now suggested that he would allow both Alpine drivers to depart and would try and bring in Yuki Tsunoda instead.
The 24-year-old has out-performed Daniel Ricciardo this season and currently sits in the top 10 of the Drivers’ Championship.
Guenther Steiner gives his verdict on both Alpine drivers
Asked what he would do if he was in charge of Alpine this year, Steiner said: “I wouldn’t have the same two drivers.”
When asked which two drivers he would try and get, Steiner continued: “Phew, I need to think about who is around.
“Obviously, I don’t think [Carlos] Sainz will go there, that’s my opinion.
“You would look after [Yuki] Tsunoda. As Alpine, as a works team, you should have the money to get the best driver on the market.
“That is what you need to try and from the drivers on the market, obviously [Alex] Albon is gone.
“I think the next best driver on the market is Sainz or Tsunoda, I would go after one of them.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Yuki Tsunoda is already a man in demand for 2025
Although Steiner isn’t in charge of Alpine, it would be a surprise if the French team weren’t having a look at Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver has been sensational this season but his current contract with RB expires in the winter.
Tsunoda is reportedly at the top of Audi’s list of drivers for 2025 with Carlos Sainz now a serious contender for Williams.
RB would still like to keep Tsunoda but given he’s not in line for a promotion to the senior Red Bull team, he may explore his options.
Tsunoda is also in the mix for one of the two Haas seats and it’ll be interesting to see which options he eventually takes.
The post ‘I would go’: Guenther Steiner says he would sign £15k-a-week driver for 2025 if he was Alpine team principal appeared first on F1 Oversteer.