F1: Red Bull rules out Alpine switch for Gasly

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko and Franz Tost have blankly dismissed speculation linking Pierre Gasly with the vacant race cockpit at Alpine for 2023.

With Alpine poised to lose Oscar Piastri to McLaren, some believe the perfect ‘plan B’ for the Renault-owned team would be an all-French lineup of Esteban Ocon alongside Gasly.

Frenchman Gasly, 26, is firmly under contract to Red Bull for 2023, but has made no secret of his disappointment at being kept at the energy drink company’s second team Alpha Tauri.

“There is no exit clause for Gasly,” Red Bull’s top Austrian official Dr Helmut Marko told Sport1 when asked about the speculation.

“There was no clause before the summer break and there will be no clause after the summer break.”

Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost, meanwhile, played down suggestions Alpine might be prepared to use any compensation paid by the departing Piastri camp to buy out Gasly’s Red Bull deal.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost looks on in the Team Principals Press Conference prior to final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 18, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

“It makes no sense for Red Bull to let Pierre go,” said the Austrian.

“If a Red Bull driver fails, there is no other driver capable of stepping in. Only Gasly can do that,” Tost added.

He also said the Faenza based is very happy with Gasly as its number 1 driver.

“Pierre is very talented,” said Tost. “He thinks everything through carefully and is very focused.

“With the right car, he can be at the front. That is our job now.”