Cursed Alpine Drivers

Talent to talentless

Alpine Formula 1 team is one of the most unique Formula 1 teams, since it is the only French team and the only team to use an engine which isn’t shared among any other team. Although the French team has been one of the best teams in recent years, it has not avoided controversy and drama.

At the beginning of the 2022 season Alpine had one of the most talented rosters, with Fernando Alonso (2 time world champion) as a leading driver and Oscar Piastri (Fomrula 2 Champion) as a reserve driver waiting for him opportunity to make a debut in 2023. The plan was for Alonso to retire at the end of the season and promote Piastri to a full time driver, but all of the sudden Alonso announced he wanted to remain in Formula 1, this angered Piastri and he left his life long team to join McLaren, on top of it Fernando Alonso ended up leaving because he didn’t reach an agreement of a contract extension. 

In just one week Alpine managed to lose two of the top talents in the sport to their main rivals, and they have been looking for a replacement but due to their bad reputation of driver treatment  they have been struggling in doing so.

Alonso & Piastri

Why does no one seem to join?

One would imagine that Formula 1 seats are so scarce that they would fill up extremely quickly, after all there are only 20 spots in the world. And while they usually fill up quickly, both drivers and the team do not want to rush any decision that can result in a similar heartbreak that can lead to further problems.

Many drivers do not want to join the team after comments of how previous drivers have been treated behind the scenes, “The lack of clarity around my future, and ultimately a breakdown in trust, I felt the very attractive offer of McLaren and the positive dealings with them” Piastri commented after Alpine announced a signing without his consent.

2023 Alpine Driver Candidates

Alpine will have to confirm the new driver for the 2023 season in the following weeks, and there are 3 main drivers that are on the shortlist and have both the experience and/or connections to get the spot. 

Nyck De Vries is one of the most probable candidates, he won the Formula 2 and Formula E championships in 2020 and 2021, he has been a reserve driver for Mercedes and he made his debut for Williams replacing an injured driver this past month, which impressed the whole sport. 

Jack Doohan is one of the junior Alpine drivers, he has been with the team pretty much his whole life and is expected to do some test runs for them, but Alpine isn’t known for giving its junior drivers the opportunity, as said before with Oscar Piastri…

Pierre Gasly is in my opinion the most probable replacement, he is a French which would bring many sponsors to a French team, he has shown a lot of promise this past few years and is very beloved by the French Formula 1 fans.

Nick De Vries

Jack Doohan

Pierre Gasly

My Opinion

Teams should be held more accountable for bad management, since Formula 1 is the hardest and most competitive place to enter in sports, there should be accountability for teams, the fact that there is always someone that is willing to take a spot on your team does not justify poor treatment of your drivers. If they can’t provide opportunities for their academy, I believe it should be ended to sold.