Canal+ announces Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri in place of Gasly in 2023
AlphaTauri is rumored to have recruited Nyck de Vries for the 2023 Formula 1 season instead of Pierre Gasly. This is what Julien Fébreau and Canal+ announced during the first free practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday.
It is known that Pierre Gasly is in negotiations with Alpine to leave the Red Bull stable and allow Alpine to replace the departing Alonso.
However, AlphaTauri is in need of a replacement. Helmut Marko, the head of driver development at Red Bull and the AlphaTauri team, has reportedly offered a contract to Nyck de Vries in recent days. The Dutch driver made a very strong impression in the last Formula 1 Grand Prix in Italy at Monza. As a last-minute replacement for the injured Alexander Albon, De Vries performed exceptionally well in a Williams car, without making any mistakes and immediately scoring points, far ahead of the other Williams driver on the track, Nicholas Latifi.
According to Canal+ and Julien Fébreau, Nyck de Vries reportedly called Helmut Marko the Monday following the Italian Grand Prix, praising his good performance. The Red Bull team’s head of drivers allegedly instructed him to come to Graz the next morning. It is said that a contract was presented to Nyck de Vries during the meeting, and he consequently signed a contract with Red Bull.
On the day after the Italian Grand Prix, he calls and takes the initiative to call Helmut Marko, just so he doesn’t regret not having done it. Helmut Marko tells him, “I’ll be waiting for you in Graz tomorrow morning.” The next day, on the table, a coffee and a contract for Nyck de Vries awaited him. He quickly reads it and signs it.
This announcement, which has not yet been made official by AlphaTauri or Red Bull, therefore makes it very likely that Pierre Gasly will move to Alpine next season.
