Christian Horner hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Red Bull letting Pierre Gasly join Alpine at the end of the season.
Until the past week or so, it was widely believed that Gasly would remain at AlphaTauri for the 2023 campaign.
However, rumours have now begun to stir regarding his future, with talk that Alpine want to sign him.
The French team are looking for a replacement for Fernando Alonso, who is joining Aston Martin at the end of the year.
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They initially planned to give academy product Oscar Piastri the seat, but after announcing him as their new driver, he said that wasn’t the case and it soon emerged that he’d signed a deal to drive for McLaren next year instead.
With both teams claiming they have the legal right to field Piastri next season, the matter has gone to the FIA’s contract recognition board. Regardless of their verdict though, it looks like the Aussie will drive for McLaren given they’ve announced Daniel Ricciardo will be making way.
There has been talk that Alpine will use any money they receive in compensation from McLaren to buy Gasly out of his contract with Red Bull.
When asked about the matter, Christian Horner refused to rule out the possibility of him leaving.
“The market is quite fluid at the moment,” he said.
“For us, obviously Pierre is still a driver under contract with Red Bull until the end of next season. We also have a contract with Checo (Sergio Perez) for the next two years and Max (Verstappen) has a long-term contract.
“We have to consider all the possibilities, but first and foremost we will have to see what the CRB is going to say. Everything else is pure speculation.”
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Neither Alpine nor Gasly have commented on the speculation, but it seems like a logical move for both parties.
Gasly is arguably a better option than the other two obvious candidates for the vacant seat, Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher. Last season, he was far more impressive than both.
It would undoubtedly be a move he’d be keen to make too with it unlikely that Red Bull will ever promote him again and a certainty that AlphaTauri will never be more than a midfield team.
The fact that he doesn’t get on well with Esteban Ocon could be a problem, but Ocon has said he’d be happy to be team-mates with him.