Former Formula E champion, Jean-Eric Vergne, is a fan of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri performances since his return to Faenza, and believes that he has earned a move to a better team.
Gasly raced with the Red Bull junior side under their Toro Rosso guise at the end of 2017 and throughout 2018, and his performances caught the eye of the main fold, who promoted him for 2019.
The Frenchman joined Max Verstappen in place of Daniel Ricciardo, who had left for Renault after winning seven races with the Austrian team.
Sadly for Gasly, things did not work out with Red Bull. He was comprehensively out-performed by Verstappen, who win two races and achieved five podium finishes in the first half of the year.
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The 26-year-old had struggled to get amongst the battle for the podium places, and it was becoming difficult to watch him take mental beatings every weekend.
Red Bull therefore decided to remove him from the firing line halfway through the year and demote him back to Toro Rosso.
He switched with Alex Albon, who himself was dropped at the end of 2020 despite two podium finishes that year.
Gasly meanwhile, has managed three podiums during his second spell with the junior side, one of which was a memorable victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.
The other two arrived in Brazil just months after he re-joined, and last year in Baku when Sergio Perez, who now partners Verstappen, took victory.
However, AlphaTauri have been underperforming this year, and they are currently eighth in the Constructors’ Standings.
A seat has become available at Alpine after Fernando Alonso’s signature with Aston Martin, while Oscar Piastri is thought to have signed with McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo.
It appears to be a battle for the seat between Gasly, Ricciardo – who previously drive for the Enstone side under their Renault guise – and Mick Schumacher, who is out of contract at Haas at the end of the season.
Should the opportunity present itself, Vergne, who himself drove for Toro Rosso for three years, reckons his compatriot should go for it.
“I really like Pierre, and know him quite well,” he told Sky Sports’ Any Driven Monday show.
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“I think what he has shown over the past two years has been nothing but impressive and… there is no room for him at Red Bull, he has to move away at some point to start using his own wings to fly.
“I think Alpine could be the right team for him.”
Gasly’s team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, is also out of contract at the end of the season, as well as Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, who is formerly part of the Alpine academy.