SUZUKA, Japan — Pierre Gasly will join Alpine in 2023, while Nyck de Vries will take the French driver’s place at AlphaTauri, the two teams confirmed Saturday.
Gasly will replace Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso, leaving the Red Bull driver program he joined in 2014.
Meanwhile, de Vries, who impressed on his debut for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix this year, has earned his first fulltime drive. The 27-year-old Dutch driver has won titles in both Formula E and Formula 2.
Alpine initially wanted to replace Alonso with F2 champion Oscar Piastri, who was part of the team’s young driver programme, but missed out on the Australian when he signed a deal to replace Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren in 2023.
Gasly was under contract to remain at AlphaTauri next year, so Alpine had to negotiate a deal with the Red Bull-owned team to organise his release.
AlphaTauri’s original plan was to replace Gasly with American driver Colton Herta, but the IndyCar star did not have the career results to earn an F1 superlicence.
The team turned to Nyck de Vries after the Dutch driver impressed with a ninth place finish at the Italian Grand Prix as a substitute for Alex Albon.
The news means the only vacant spots left on the 2023 grid are at Haas and Williams.
“I am delighted to join the Alpine family and begin this new chapter in my Formula One career,” said Gasly, who will join Esteban Ocon at Alpine. “Driving for a team that has French roots is something very special.
“I know the strengths of Alpine having raced against them over the past couple of years and, clearly, their progress and ambition is very impressive.
“Looking ahead, I want to give the maximum and utilise all my experience to fight for podiums and ultimately contribute to Alpine’s fight for championships in the future.”
De Vries said: “I’m extremely excited to be joining Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2023. I want to thank both Red Bull and the team for giving me the opportunity to drive in F1.
“After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it.”