Pierre Gasly has signed a new deal to commit his future to Alpine. Gasly was out of contract at the end of the season but the team confirmed ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix that he would be staying put.
Gasly has waited until the middle of the season to accept Alpine’s offer, having first assessed his options. He was reportedly a contender for a seat at Audi alongside Nico Hulkenberg.
A partnership with Oliver Bearman at Haas was also a possibility, while a move to Williams was mentioned too. But in the end, he’s opted to remain in his current surroundings.
One contributing factor may have been the departure of Esteban Ocon. Alpine have come to a mutual agreement to part ways with the Frenchman at the end of the year.
Ocon and Gasly used to be close friends before a falling out during their karting careers. They have collided twice since becoming teammates at the start of 2023, most recently at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
It’s possible, therefore, that Gasly was more inclined to stay in the knowledge that he was leaving. The current situation may have become untenable after the events of Monte Carlo.
Pierre Gasly called for Carlos Sainz to be ‘banned’ at last year’s Canadian GP
The identity of Gasly’s 2025 teammate remains unknown but Carlos Sainz is a strong contender after receiving an improved offer. Alpine have recently improved their offer for the Ferrari driver, who has lost his seat to Lewis Hamilton.
Both came into Formula 1 through Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso, with Sainz arriving a couple of years earlier. Gasly remained part of the stable until 2023, even though Christian Horner dropped him from the top team within half a season.
Sainz, by contrast, left before his third season was complete to join Alpine’s forerunners Renault. While the two have never directly crossed paths, there have been flashpoints between them on track.
For instance, at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix, Gasly encountered a slow-moving Sainz at the final chicane in Q1, ruining one of his laps. The furious Alpine driver declared over the radio that he should be ‘banned for such a thing’.
Just two races later in Silverstone, Sainz incurred his wrath again. This time, Gasly felt that he hadn’t been left enough space on the outside of Copse corner, and approached his competitor in the media pen to say ‘don’t squeeze me like that’.
The one thing that should ‘really worry’ Sainz about Alpine
Alpine will surely be eager to ensure that the relationship between their next driver pairing is harmonious. Gasly and Ocon had pre-existing issues, while they had trouble with Fernando Alonso before that too.
Alonso’s relationship with Ocon became so bad before his departure that Spanish F1 fans seemingly hold it against the 27-year-old to this day. That may be why he was booed in the fan zone at last weekend’s race in Barcelona.
Renault CEO Luca de Meo, team principal Bruno Famin and executive advisor Flavio Briatore will have to decide whether a partnership between Gasly and Sainz is viable. Competitive tensions are inevitable to a degree, but a history of acrimony between the two may be cause for concern.
All of this is irrelevant, of course, if Sainz decides to join another team instead. One journalist has warned him that Alpine can’t provide a ‘stable base’, with ‘no track record of success’ in the last two decades and a ‘revolving cast of management changes’.
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