Alpine was the slowest team at the start of the season. Their drivers crashed into each other at the Monaco GP. Esteban Ocon announced his decision to leave the team. Everything seemed to be going against Alpine. However, recent reports suggest that Pierre Gasly is close to committing his future with the French team with Carlos Sainz as his teammate.
Pierre Gasly joined Alpine at the start of 2023. An all-French driver lineup for the French team. According to lequipe.fr, Gasly is rumored to have extended his contract with Alpine. An announcement is expected to be made during the Austrian GP weekend. Although the exact length of the contract isn’t specified, it is reported to be a long-term contract.
✍ #F1 #Alpine pic.twitter.com/Cpb7Iwrfvr
— Pierre Gasly Fans Fr (@PG10_FanactuFr) June 26, 2024
Gasly’s future at the French stable was in doubt following Alpine’s terrible start to the season. Also, the friction with Ocon that started back in the karting days reached an all-time high at the Monaco GP. Nonetheless, Ocon announced his exit from the team and Alpine has shown improvement in the last few races.
It was a double-point finish for Alpine in both the Canadian GP and the Spanish GP. Although the Renault engine still lacks power, the aerodynamics seem to make up for it. More paint on the car indicates that the chassis has lost some weight.
However, Alpine is still in need of a competitive driver to replace Ocon. With Sainz not having announced his F1 future yet, Alpine is believed to have joined the race to sign him and is rumored to be close to closing a deal.
Carlos Sainz close to signing the Alpine deal
With Mercedes and Red Bull options going away, Sainz was believed to be left with Williams and Audi as an option for 2025. However, Ocon’s exit opened up Alpine as an option. Although Sainz wouldn’t have considered Alpine earlier, their recent improvements have put them above the likes of Williams and Sauber in the performance index.
Lequipe, who reported Gasly’s Alpine contract, has also suggested that Sainz is likely to join the Frenchman at the Enstone outfit. Reports suggest that Sainz is getting ever closer to getting a deal done with Alpine as the talks advance.
the news of alpine possibly signing carlos sainz has me hysterics. they want these two to be teammates? pic.twitter.com/0Y7prrbIrd
— saff (@lovepiastri) June 24, 2024
Another factor that might play into Sainz’s signing is Flavio Briatore. Alpine announced his arrival at the team a couple of weeks ago. Briatore is known for scouting drivers like Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Knowing Briatore, it wouldn’t be a hard job for him to talk Sainz into signing for Alpine.
Alpine reserve Jack Doohan and WEC driver Mick Schumacher are also believed to be in contention for the second Alpine seat. It’s a matter of time before we get confirmation on the Alpine driver lineup.
