Alpine will bid farewell to Esteban Ocon at the end of the season after a five-year partnership. After the departure of numerous off-track figures, one of the drivers is now on his way out too.
The team have been in a period of upheaval since last summer, when CEO Laurent Rossi, team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane all lost their jobs. The exodus has continued, with veteran operations director Rob White the most recent casualty.
Bruno Famin desperately needs to restore some sense of order. After a miserable start to the campaign, Alpine have at least shown some signs of life with two points finishes in three races.
But Renault CEO Luca de Meo is still considering pulling the plug on the F1 operation. He’s started looking into a potential sale.
To convince him to keep the faith, Famin may need to deliver a sharp improvement in results and some exciting news on the driver front. He’s interested in F1 A-lister Carlos Sainz, on the market after losing his seat at Ferrari.
Sainz is a three-time Grand Prix winner who’s scored 22 podiums in his career. Valtteri Bottas is also of interest, and he too is highly decorated with 10 victories and 67 trophies overall.
Alpine want to tie down Pierre Gasly after losing Esteban Ocon
According to Sky Sports, one of Alpine’s priorities now is to secure the commitment of Pierre Gasly. The 28-year-old is out of contract at the end of the year, just like Ocon.
Gasly has been linked with numerous vacancies while considering his future. F1TV journalist Will Buxton has named him as a possible teammate for Oliver Bearman at Haas.
He’s also on the reported shortlist at Audi, while David Croft suspects that there have been talks with Williams too. But Famin wants to convince him to reject any other offers.
He’s hoping to tie Gasly down to a ‘long-term deal’. They would then be able to build around him in years to come.
What Max Verstappen has said about Gasly
Gasly has endured a frustrating season so far. While he and Ocon are level on a point apiece, he trails 6-1 in the race head-to-head and 6-2 in qualifying.
In that sense, it might seem strange that Alpine have ostensibly favoured him. But Ocon’s exit appears to be mutual as he seeks a fresh start elsewhere.
Famin has two of F1’s strongest midfield drivers at his disposal, but the problem is that they weren’t working effectively together. Now that is one going, he can fully throw his weight behind the other.
Max Verstappen regards his former teammate Gasly as an ‘incredibly talented’ and ‘amazing’ racer who can excel as a ‘team leader’ (via Racing News 365). As you can see in the table above, he’s scored four podiums, including a memorable victory at the 2020 Italian GP, and has finished in the points in 45.6% of his races.
Alpine will hope for a quick signature from Gasly, allowing them to focus fully on the vacancy alongside him. If they can’t get Sainz, they could potentially look for him to mentor academy driver Jack Doohan, who’s impressed in private tests.
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