Reports suggest that Red Bull has agreed to an undisclosed fee to let go $5 Million a year earning Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri.
Pierre Gasly has been backed by Red Bull since 2014. He debuted in F1 with the Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso(now AlphaTauri) and stayed with them for two seasons. He was then promoted to the senior team in the 2019 season.
Halfway into the 2019 season, Gasly was demoted back to the junior team due to his poor performance in comparison to his teammate Max Verstappen.
Since then, the French driver has been working on getting back on top and had hoped for a seat next to Max Verstappen. But that option went out the window after Red Bull extended Sergio Perez’s contract for two more years.
Gasly had revealed that if in case an opportunity arises in the paddock, he would be willing to discuss an exit clause with Red Bull.
With the 2022 silly season kicking off with Sebastian Vettel’s retirement and Alpine’s chaos, talks have emerged about Gaasly’s move to Alpine for the 2023 season.
Red Bull agrees to a fee to release Pierre Gasly
Reports suggest that Red Bull has now agreed to a fee to release its $5 Million per year earning driver. Gasly’s current contract with Alphatauri is set to expire at the end of 2023.
Initially, team advisor Helmut Marko had insisted that there was no clause in Gasly’s contract that would allow him to leave.
But it seems that the team is now up for the idea to let go of Gasly at a price. The Race reported that Alpine and Red Bull have agreed on a fee although the amount of this fee remains undisclosed.
When asked about the reports, the Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that the team is looking at all possibilities.
“But first and foremost we will have to see what the CRB is going to say. Everything else is pure speculation,” he added.
CRB(Contract Recognition Board) is currently debating Alpine’s reserve driver Oscar Piastri’s future in F1. Piastri triggered chaos by denying to drive as a replacement for Fernando Alonso who moved to Aston Martin for the 2023 season.
Therefore, it all depends on the decision that CRB lands on with respect to Piastri. Meanwhile, the drivers’ market remains quite fluid.
Currently, there are four vacant seats on the grid. McLaren terminated Daniel Ricciardo’s contract and Haas put Mick Schumacher’s contract negotiations on hold. Meanwhile, Williams too has made no decision on Nicholas Latifi.
Also Read: Pierre Gasly surprised by F2 champion refusing French giants for 2023 seat
