Pierre Gasly, a Formula One driver, has signed a multi-year contract extension with the Alpine team. Alpine said in a statement that the agreement will keep Pierre through the 2025 season and beyond. No more information was provided. The 28-year-old Frenchman is in his second season at Alpine. Following a difficult start to the season, he has gained points in the last three races heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. He finished 11th in the drivers’ standings last season, with a best finish of third place at the Netherlands Grand Prix.
It has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team, Gasly said. While on track it’s been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere. I am happy with the changes made, the hard work, and the direction the team is taking, Gasly expressed.
Gasly’s teammate Esteban Ocon is departing Alpine at the end of the season. The French-owned team stated that it would announce his replacement “in due course”. Ocon and Gasly have made it clear that they do not get along well. The two collided nearing the tunnel section at the Monaco Grand Prix last month, with Ocon accepting responsibility for the collision and incurring a five-place grid penalty for the following race. Alpine’s two executives in charge of building its new F1 car resigned in March following a dismal performance at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Alpine is allegedly interested in signing Carlos Sainz to replace Ocon, who lost his spot at Ferrari with seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes to join the Italian team next year. It is no secret that Sainz is the finest F1 talent up for grabs for 2025, following Ferrari’s agreement to sign Hamilton and extend Charles Leclerc’s contract.
Sainz, for his part, said he doesn’t want to drag out his decision. A decision will be taken very soon. I don’t want to wait any longer. It is getting to the point where it is taking space from my head in recent weeks, Sainz said. I am still not sure one way or another. I am still discussing this with my team and brainstorming, the Spanish driver added.
Gasly has competed in 140 races and has four podium finishes, including a victory in the Italian Grand Prix in 2020, where he held off then-McLaren driver Sainz in the final laps.
