it’s official. This Saturday as MD progresses Pierre Guthrie announced his departure from Alpha Tauri and his signature Alpine by 2023 (“multi-year” contracts available) of Full Japanese F1 GP, before the start of the second day at Suzuka. Along with that came another announcement that was an open secret. That is Dutchman Nick de Vries arriving at AlphaTauri with Yuki Tsunoda.

After weeks of waiting, the prediction finally came true. Pierre Guthrie He already has what he wanted: he leaves Alpha Tauri Coming off his sixth season with the team despite being under contract for next year, he was convinced it was a step he had to take in his career. FaenzaIn 2019, the opportunity to be promoted to Red Bull came too early, but the pressure was still able to deal with pilots who were too green.

His accident at the start of the course and lack of results. Verstappen who burned him At the wheel of a car built entirely for the Dutch, they had Red Bull unload AlphaTauri again mid-season. instead of sinking Since then, Pierre has proven to resurface. He showed grit, brains, character, personality and most importantly speed. However, the arrival of “Czech” Perez And how well the Mexican played his role as Verstappen’s number two closed the door to a second chance.

Fed up with this wait, Pierre bets on a different path.When he learned he wasn’t promoted to Red Bull, as Carlos Sainz had been in his time, he turned to Renault. and then to McLaren, where he exploded decisively..Carlos’ example is when Pierre Gasly arrived at Alpine in a difficult ballot to cover the loss of Fernando Alonso moving to Aston Martin. It is what you want to follow. The French team lost a lot in this move, but it was true that what was very important to them – he secured a future with two young drivers. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, both 26 years old, in the French team. F1’s ‘Blue’ Army. Alpine is therefore committed to putting all its eggs in the same basket, the French basket, given its commercial objectives, and changing Gasly to Alonso doesn’t seem to win.

Ocon’s partner in a strained relationship

Another question is to see how Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon get along in the same team. Both remember racing in karts and it’s no secret they’re not on good terms, with Alpine uniting his two drivers in the same team as they battle to become French icons in F1. A dangerous cocktail.

De Vries fulfills his dream with AlphaTauri

Since winning the F2 title in 2019, he has fulfilled his F1 dreams several times, but until now the opportunity has not come. Finally, in 2023 he will Nyck de Vries compete for the AlphaTauri. The Dutchman, who has been with the Mercedes program since 2019, joined his team in Formula E Star and won the championship in his second year in the electric class. The 28-year-old is now owned by Mercedes’ great rivals Red Bull. Last season the people at Brackley tried to find a seat for this year’s Williams, but with no luck.

Red Bull are happy with Gasly’s relief. He wanted a guaranteed driver to replace Pierre, who no longer wanted to stay with the team. AlphaTauri is a promising platform for young Red Bull’s promotion to F1, but the seat next to Yuki Tsunoda is the Dutchman arriving in F1 at the age of 28.