The impact Alonso’s move to Aston Martin has on the F1 2023 driver market
Aston Martin’s Monday morning announcement came out of the blue as they revealed that two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso will partner Lance Stroll for 2023.
A surprising decision on the surface but with Vettel’s retirement being announced ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Aston Martin and Lawrence Stroll were always going to be keen to make a statement, and the signing of Alonso does that.
You can argue that it’s a strange decision from Alonso given Alpine is currently fourth in the constructors’ championship and remains just one of four works teams on the grid alongside Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
However, Alonso remains at the peak of his powers and with Alpine understood to be only offering the Spaniard a one-year deal - potentially a stop-gap for Oscar Piastri - a multi-year contract with Aston Martin was always going to be more appealing.
Alonso’s move does have further repercussions on the driver market with several seats still up for grabs.
Alpine
Alonso’s switch to Aston Martin paves the way for reigning F2 champion Piastri to make his debut with the French team in 2023.
After back-to-back title-winning campaigns, Piastri was forced to sit this year on the sidelines.
Compared to the likes of George Russell and Charles Leclerc, who both won the F2 and F3 titles before making the jump to F1, Alpine are pinning their hopes on Piastri.
In the short-term, Alpine are taking a step backwards with their driver line-up as losing a driver of Alonso’s calibre will have an immediate impact in terms of competitiveness.
However, if Piastri lives up to expectations then Alpine have a superstar on their hands for many years to come.
Williams
Piastri’s likely promotion removes one potential candidate for Williams next year.
The Alpine junior has been constantly linked with a move to Williams for 2023. There were even suggestions that Piastri would replace Nicholas Latifi mid-season due to the Canadian’s poor form.
Williams will need to look elsewhere as they search for a new teammate for Alex Albon, who hasn’t been formally confirmed yet.
Logan Sargeant, who’s part of Williams’ academy, is a potential option but will need to finish the F2 season strongly to obtain the required amount of super licence points.
Reigning Formula E champion Nyck de Vries is another potential candidate and was tipped to join the team before Albon got the drive.
Haas
Haas are still yet to announce Kevin Magnussen’s teammate for 2023, but with Alonso’s move to Aston Martin now confirmed, Mick Schumacher’s future is clear.
The German was hotly-tipped to replace Vettel at Aston Martin, with the four-time champion even recommending him to owner Lawrence Stroll.
After a tough start to the year, Schumacher has found his feet with a couple of points finishes and strong drives.
Schumacher remaining with Haas looks very likely now.
AlphaTauri
With a host of Red Bull juniors underperforming in F2, Yuki Tsunoda is expected to remain with AlphaTauri for another season.
Tsunoda has shown signs of improvement in 2022, particularly in qualifying relative to teammate Pierre Gasly.
The Japanese driver looks to be safe for now.
Alfa Romeo
It’s a similar story at Alfa Romeo with Frederic Vasseur expressing his desire to keep Zhou Guanyu alongside Valtteri Bottas.
While Zhou’s points tally is minimal, his improved form coincided with Alfa Romeo’s downturn in performance relative to the midfield.
As of late, Zhou has been a close match for Bottas, even out-qualifying him on three occasions (twice in the wet).
Sauber junior Theo Pourchaire hasn’t delivered this season, and even if he can topple Felipe Drugovich in the closing four rounds, a season on the sidelines - like Piastri - seems likely.
