After gaining more and more depth in recent weeks, Pierre Gasly’s contract extension at Alpine is now official. Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix which will take place this weekend in Spielberg, the French team announced the signing of a new “multi-year” lease with the 28-year-old driver, who thus retains his seat for next season and beyond, thus involving the future 2026 regulatory cycle.
If it is said that the winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix sometimes looked for a way out, while the Enstone team experienced a start to the year very far from its expectations, he finally made the choice to continue the adventure. His confirmation makes him the first driver announced by Alpine, which must now find him a teammate, while a last minute offer was reportedly made a few days ago at Carlos Sainz.
At the beginning of the month, Alpine had signaled the end of the story with its other French driver, Esteban Ocon, by mutual agreement. The Norman is still expected at Haas, one of the two most likely avenues for him to date, the other leading to the Audi project to join Nico Hülkenberg if ever Carlos Sainz declines the offer from the brand with the rings.
For Pierre Gasly, the hope is to be part of an Alpine project upgraded under the impetus of the countless changes that have taken place over the past year, and under the leadership of Flavio Briatore who has become executive advisor to work alongside by Bruno Famin.
“I really feel at home in this great team”assures Pierre Gasly. “I enjoy being an integral part of both the Formula 1 project and the broader vision of Alpine Cars. I have been there for over eighteen months officially and the goal has always been to build for the long term with The team has had a difficult season so far, but I’m staying true to the project and I’m not going anywhere. I’m happy with the changes, the hard work and the direction the team is taking. has a lot of potential in the personnel and resources of this team I look forward to seeing what the future holds and right now I am focusing on the details we are implementing on a daily basis to improve our performance.”
A long-time member of the Red Bull fold, Gasly arrived in the French team last year to succeed Fernando Alonso, in the wake of the contractual imbroglio which deprived Alpine of Oscar Piastri. In 32 Grands Prix contested to date in the colors of the team, he has scored a podium at Zandvoort in 2023 (as well as another in a sprint race at Spa-Francorchamps) and scored 67 points.
In a complicated 2024 campaign due to an underperforming car, but also marked by a rivalry that came to the fore with Esteban Ocon, he scored 5 of Alpine’s 8 units in the championship.
“The extension of Pierre’s contract with the team is a real pleasure”insists director Bruno Famin. “He is a driver with a wealth of experience in Formula 1 and continues to show enormous potential on track. He is a fantastic ambassador for the Alpine brand, so we look forward to continuing our collaboration. Although this is important For our future, we must stay focused on our next deadlines and focus on improving our current package. We have great ambitions and we will work tirelessly to achieve them. We will take our time to choose Pierre’s teammate. We’re excited about the options available to us.”
