Former F1 driver Mark Webber expects Pierre Gasly to flourish at Alpine. After this season, the Frenchman will leave AlphaTauri and form a full French line-up with Esteban Ocon at Alpine.

Gasly has long been part of Red Bull's development programme, making his debut at Toro Rosso in Malaysia in 2017. In 2019, he was briefly promoted to Red Bull Racing for 12 races alongside Max Verstappen, but he did not meet the team's high standards and was replaced by Alexander Albon during the summer break. He returned to Toro Rosso which was later renamed AlphaTauri and has now driven a total of 104 races, with one win at Monza in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix. Having initially confirmed that he would stay with AlphaTauri through 2023, Gasly has now confirmed that he will leave for Alpine after this year's Abu Dhabi season.

Chair dance

Gasly's transfer was part of the musical chairs that followed Sebastian Vettel's decision to retire at the end of the year. Aston Martin then brought in Fernando Alonso to fill the gap in their line-up for 2023. Alpine wanted to fill its now vacant seat with Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri, but the Australian was persuaded by McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo. Nyck de Vries, in turn, will replace Gasly at AlphaTauri next season.

Webber, himself a Red Bull veteran, thinks the switch will do the 26-year-old good. "I like Pierre, he’s a good young lad", Webber told Channel 4."He’s been at Red Bull for a long time - he could flourish in a new environment." He continued that it is great for the French brand that Gasly is joining the team.