Have you ever thought about why a driver wants to win a race? Let’s say to pay off the team’s hard work. What if he gets to drive for his nation? Yes, Pierre Gasly is all set to join Alpine for season 2023. He’ll drive alongside another Frenchman, Esteban Ocon. Before the race on Suzuka, in a press conference, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer revealed why they picked the AlphaTauri driver.

After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso announced that he’ll leave Alpine at the end of season 2022. The speculations about who’ll become the partner of Esteban Ocon surfaced. Many drivers got shortlisted, including Daniel Ricciardo, but it was Gasly who met the criteria of the team. The Alpine pair will form the first full-time all-French lineup at a Renault-owned team since 1982.

Otmar shed some light on why they picked the juvenile driver, ” Well, you know, at the beginning we discussed with a few drivers, including Daniel and, you know, Pierre meets the criteria that I said to a tee, he’s experienced fast and young. So, when it became evident that Pierre was a possibility we made our shortlist even shorter.” said the Alpine boss.

Delighted to join the French-based team, Pierre Gasly said, “I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter in my F1 career, Driving for a team that has French roots is something very special.”

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2023 looks set to be a strange year for Formula 1 viewers, with Sebastian Vettel set to retire and Daniel Ricciardo all but confirmed to not be on the grid next season. Vettel is, of course, retiring from the championship at the end of the season; however, Ricciardo’s future was still unknown, heading into last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo not in a rush to sort out F1 Future

Daniel Ricciardo was one of the shortlisted drivers for Alpine after Fernando Alonso’s announcement. The Honey Badger was believed to be an outsider for Mick Schumacher’s Haas seat. Other rumors stated the Australian was in advanced talks with Mercedes about becoming their reserve driver next season. Now, there’s only Haas’ seat, which is still vacant.

The Honey Badger was surely talking the truth when he said he will not join any team just to be a “grid filler”. After Alpine’s confirmation on Pierre, Ricciardo said, “The Gasly news I was aware of and I knew they were talking and were very interested. The reality is now that I won’t be on the grid in 2023, I think there could be better opportunities than and that’s really what all this confirms now, where the sides are set.”

Ricciardo feels there’s no need to rush to have his future sorted out. He will take his time to work out what is best for him.

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All said and done, Pierre Gasly will surely be delighted to join one of the top teams in the sport.