Alpine admit they spoke to Ricciardo – and reveal why they opted against him

Alpine admit they spoke to Ricciardo – and reveal why they opted against him

 

 

 
Gasly will be in the F1 2023 driver line-up with Alpine after opting to leave AlphaTauri.Ricciardo, whose contract is being terminated early by McLaren, has admitted he won’t be on the F1 2023 grid but Alpine have conceded that a link-up was discussed.Daniel Ricciardo – WHERE NEXT? | F1 2022Video of Daniel Ricciardo – WHERE NEXT? | F1 2022“At the beginning we discussed with a few drivers, including Daniel,” Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer said.Ricciardo represented the French team when they were known as Renault.Alpine were in need of a new driver for next season when Fernando Alonso announced he would leave to join Aston Martin as a replacement for the retiring Sebastian Vettel.“We had a seat available around the summer break, and then we started looking around as to who would be [the] best fit, and we had some criteria to work to,” Szafnauer said.Revealed: Pierre Gasly’s eye-opening salary and contract – why Red Bull agreed “The three things we wanted were natural speed, a fast driver; one with experience; and also youth at the same time. “Adding all three things up, there aren’t many people that have all that, and Pierre definitely does.“Pierre meets the criteria that I said to a tee. He’s experienced, fast and young, so when it became evident that Pierre was a possibility, we made our shortlist even shorter.”Gasly will team with Esteban Ocon next year.“They’ve known each other for a very long time and they’ve raced together,” Szafnauer said.Related Revealed: Pierre Gasly’s eye-opening salary and contract – why Red Bull agreed ‘The lowest point in years ’ – Angry Perez on F1 tractor incident“They’re about equally experienced, they’re both very fast and both ambitious, so I think they’ll work well together.”Gasly is currently 13th in the F1 standings, Ricciardo is 12th. 

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