The following post contains opinions and views that are my own.
It's Japanese GP weekend. The first one since 2019, thanks to the Covid Outbreak. And, a few hours before the beginning of FP3, which is in the middle of the night here in Europe, some news broke. In fact, it was news we had all been expecting but trying to figure out what the heck was going on at two in the morning when you're half asleep is something. Regardless, Pierre Gasly will be driving for Alpine in 2023 and Formula E champ; Nyck de Vries, will be replacing him at Alpha Tauri. I can't help but think that these moves, not necessarily to the teams they have signed with, should have been done years ago.
Let's begin with Pierre Gasly. The 26 year old from Rouen in France has been apart of the Red Bull family since 2014 with the majority of those years spent in Formula One with Alpha Tauri (Toro Rosso), besides a brief stint at Red Bull Racing. I wrote a post about the Frenchman's team options for the future a few months ago and said this:
"Alpha Tauri is a junior team and Pierre is no longer a junior. For years, a driver at this team would be there on average for two years and then would either move to Red Bull or be shown the door."
For a while now I've believed that Pierre isn't benefiting his career staying at Alpha Tauri. Of course, it's a seat in Formula One, you'll take what you can and show everyone what you can do with what you've got. Also, in reality, he was never going to drive for the main Red Bull team again. Really, his only option would be to get out while he can. That's what ex-Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz did. Look at him now.
Alpha Tauri has been a safe haven for Gasly and other seats are difficult to come by so it's understandable that it's taken this long for him to move elsewhere. I'm intrigued to see how Pierre fares in a different team. Sometimes, especially in his position, it's a risk you just need to take.
Take a look at my full blog post in regards to Pierre's future options here: https://bronnypreece.wixsite.com/throughthechicane/post/my-opinion-pierre-gasly-and-alpha-tauri-is-it-time-to-move-on
And then we have Nyck de Vries. After his fantastic debut with Williams at the 2022 Italian GP, it was expected that the 27 year old Dutchman would sign with a team to race in F1 in 2023. I won't lie, I was gobsmacked when I first heard the rumours that he had signed with Alpha Tauri. They (Alpha Tauri and Red Bull) have a decent crop of junior drivers in lower categories, why choose Nyck? Simple. He proved himself that he is worthy of an F1 seat and they were not going to let him go to a rival team where he could flourish against them.
It's not a secret, Nyck is no stranger to success. He has won numerous karting championships, Formula Renault 2.0 championships, the 2019 Formula 2 championship as well as becoming the first Formula E World Champion in the 2020-2021 season. He's also been associated with McLaren and Mercedes in the past. It's amazing it's taken him this long to secure an F1 race seat but you could say that about many a driver.
I was dubious, however, of de Vries moving to Formula One. He's made himself a fantastic motorsporting career thus far and I was unsure if this would undo all of that but as we always say, "F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport." The majority of racing drivers want to be an F1 driver and after de Vries' debut in Italy, my worries are all but gone.
I'm thrilled for both Gasly and de Vries. These are two moves that I think will pay off, if not right away at some point in the future. Obviously, we still have some way to go in the 2022 Formula One season and a couple of seats are still available for the next. Right now we'll just have to wait with anticipation for 2023!
Comments