Gasly reveals real reason behind Alpine switch

Ian Parkes
Thursday 22 December 2022 11:49

Pierre Gasly has revealed the real reason behind his high-profile switch to Alpine.

Gasly will succeed Fernando Alonso at Alpine in 2023 after just over five seasons in F1 with the Red Bull family, four and a half of which were with AlphaTauri.

Despite signing a contract extension with AlphaTauri in June through to the end of 2023, the Frenchman was allowed to join Alpine in October after the French team's failure to recruit its reserve driver Oscar Piastri.

Speaking to GPFans in an end-of-season interview, Gasly has now confirmed he was allowed to leave AlphaTauri as 2023 was going to be his last with the team, and there was no chance of a second promotion to Red Bull.

Asked if the move had come at a good time, Gasly said: “Yeah. I think at the stage of my career, with the experience that I've gathered over the last few years, definitely.

READ MORE...Gasly explains how "chaos" sparked AlphaTauri exit

“It's definitely the time to move forward, also with the fact that Red Bull is also sealed until the end of 2024.

“For me, it was like I'm hitting the ceiling, I'm not going to go up, and I told them that I'm not a driver who's going to be satisfied in just finishing in the top 10, fighting for eighth or 10th.

“That's not what I'm working for. That's not my motivation every day, and I need more than that, I want more than that. I think he [Franz Tost, team principal] understood.

“When the opportunity came, we explained to him how important it was for my career, for me personally, and I've given my best to this team, my absolute best."