After weeks of speculation, AlphaTauari confirmed Pierre Gasly will return next season. Here’s the latest on the F1 2023 Driver Lineup.
When Red Bull Racing announced they had extended Sergio Perez for another two seasons, the next thought went towards Pierre Gasly. The Red Bull academy product, and one-time first-team driver, Gasly’s path back was effectively closed. Would his future take him to McLaren, Alpine, or Aston Martin instead? Then came the announcement that Scuderia AlphaTauri has secured the Frenchman for 2023. So with Gasly locked in how does the F1 2023 Driver Lineup look?
Gasly’s F1 Path
Pierre Gasly got his start in 2011 in the French F4 Championship, working his way up to Formula 3.5 in three years. In 2014, he joined the Red Bull Development Program and finished 2nd behind fellow Red Bull driver Carlos Sainz Jr. He spent the next two seasons in GP2 (now Formula 2) eventually winning four races and the F2 Championship with Prema Racing in 2016. In 2017 he split his time between Formula 1, Super Formula, and the Formula E series.
2018 brought his full-season debut in F1 for Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). Impressing he made the jump up to the Red Bull team following Daniel Ricciardo’s departure but found life difficult trying to match Max Verstappen. He was demoted back to Red Bull’s second team with Alex Albon taking his seat. Since then Gasly has gone on to get three F1 podiums and his first-ever F1 win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.
F1 2023 Driver Lineup – What’s Still Open?
Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas & Open. Bottas signed a multi-year deal when he moved from Mercedes, while the team is testing out Zhou Guanyu on a one-year deal. Zhou has impressed in his rookie season thus far. And given the financial and fan support he receives from China he will likely remain. If that falls through, F2’s Theo Pourchaire is an option or taking over the reserve duties next season for Robert Kubica.
AlphaTauri: Pierre Gasly & Open – While Tuki Tsunoda has yet to be confirmed for next season, his improvement in year two and Red Bull’s apparent commitment to him make this nearly done. Unless the next few months go horribly wrong for Yuki, except AlphaTauri to be running the same lineup in 2023.
Alpine: Esteban Ocon & Open – Ocon is locked in through the 2024 season, but Fernando Alonso’s status remains up in the air. With Alonso’s form so far in 2022, if he wants to stay, Alpine will extend him. Complicating matters is their talented reserve driver and F2 Champion Oscar Piastri. Alpine has publically stated that Piastri will be racing in F1 in 2023, so is that a hint that Alonso may exit or that they’ve lined up a seat at another team already?
Aston Martin: Sebastian Vettel (?) & Lance Stroll – At the moment their 2023 lineup appears confirmed. However, we don’t know exactly how long Vettel’s ‘multi-year’ deal is or if he still wants to race beyond 2022. And while Stroll’s father owns the team, eventually if the results don’t come, a very tough conversation will be needed.
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz. Both of the Ferrari drivers are locked in through the 2024 season.
Haas: Kevin Magnussen & Open. Magnussen’s return came with a two-year deal and his performances in 2022 have backed up that decision by Haas. However, Mick Schumacher’s struggles leave his 2023 status to be determined. He needs a strong run of results to secure his spot, otherwise, they may look at Piastri, or look to F2 and American driver Logan Sargent.
McLaren: Lando Norris & Daniel Ricciardo. Norris is locked in through 2025 and is the team’s clear #1 driver. And while Ricciardo has a contract for 2023, Zak Brown has alluded that it may not be guaranteed. While a marketing gem, Ricciardo’s seat could be at risk to Alpine’s Piastri (who is a reserve driver for McLaren this season), IndyCar’s Pato O’Ward or Colton Herta, or former McLaren driver Oliver Askew (currently in Formula E).
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton & George Russell. Russell signed a long-term deal before the start of this season. And while Hamilton’s return was speculation in the winter, he agreed to a two-year contract. That locks in this duo through the end of 2023.
Red Bull: Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez. Verstappen signed perhaps the longest F1 contract, locking him in with Red Bull through 2028. Perez on the back of a strong start, agreed to an extension for 2023 & 2024, even prior to his win in Monaco.
Williams: Both seats remain open. Alex Albon joined on a one-year deal, he has impressed and is highly rated by Jost Capito. With Nicolas Latifi’s seat the biggest question mark on the grid, extending Albon into 2023 makes sense. Without a dramatic turnaround, Latifi’s days in F1 look finished. Rumored to fill his seat are Mercedes’ reserve driver & current Formula E champion Nyck de Vries who tested for Williams in Spain this season and the aforementioned Piastri. Looking farther down the road Williams has F2’s Logan Sargent to consider.
As more driver lineups are confirmed for 2023 we will update this summary.
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