Who will land the best vacant seat on the F1 2023 grid?

Alonso’s switch to Aston Martin has left Alpine with an unexpected vacancy for 2023. The French manufacturer tried to fill it by announcing the promotion of reserve and test driver Oscar Piastri, only for the 2021 F2 champion to deny he would make his F1 debut with the team. 

Alpine lost a contract battle to McLaren for the highly-rated Australian’s services and have been searching for a replacement ever since, with Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer claiming the team had up to 14 drivers on their shortlist for what he described as being “the best seat open in F1”. 

We’ve taken a look at the leading candidates believed to be in the frame for the most competitive remaining seat on the F1 2023 grid…

Alpine's first choice 

Pierre Gasly is said to be the number one target for Alpine, but such a move would rest on outside factors. 

Red Bull are prepared to release Gasly from his contract in order to enable the Frenchman to join Alpine, but only if an acceptable alternative can be found to replace him at AlphaTauri. 

Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko had originally wanted to sign IndyCar driver Colton Herta, but the 22-year-old American lacks sufficient points for a superlicence that is required to race in F1. 

With Herta now out of contention for an AlphaTauri drive, it has emerged that Red Bull have set their sights on Nyck de Vries, who confirmed to Dutch media that he met with Marko last week. 

Gasly is an attractive candidate for Alpine. He has been one of the standout drivers in F1’s midfield in recent years and is a grand prix winner. At 26, Gasly is in his prime and a move to the upper midfield and a manufacturer outfit would be appealing given his hopes of a Red Bull return appear to be over. 

But Gasly will be staying put at AlphaTauri alongside the retained Yuki Tsunoda if Red Bull cannot find a suitable replacement. 

The testing trio 

Alpine are understood to have carried out a private three-day test with a 2021 F1 car at the Hungaroring this week as the team continues to evaluate their options. 

De Vries took part following his starring performance on his F1 debut as a last-minute stand-in for Alex Albon, who was ruled out of the Italian Grand Prix with appendicitis. 

The 27-year-old, who won the Formula E title last year with Mercedes, convincingly beat Williams regular Nicholas Latifi on his way to matching the team’s best result of the season by finishing ninth at Monza. 

His impressive F1 bow has significantly boosted his chances of landing a full-time drive for 2023. Williams are thought to be ready to offer Latifi’s seat to de Vries, who has also drawn interest from Alpine and Red Bull. 

While Alpine are admirers of de Vries, he could yet end up being the key to unlocking Gasly’s switch to Alpine if he joins the Red Bull stable and sister team AlphaTauri. 

Ferrari reserve and former Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi kicked off Alpine’s three-day test on Tuesday. 

The Italian, who has already been linked with a drive at Haas for 2023 and is having two FP1 outings with the American squad, has emerged as a possible candidate to replace Alonso. 

Giovinazzi would certainly tick the box of being the experienced driver Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi ideally wants, with the 28-year-old scoring 21 points in 62 races for Sauber and later Alfa Romeo between 2017 and 2021. 

After losing his Alfa Romeo seat at the end of 2021, Giovinazzi switched to Formula E. Following an unsuccessful first season in the all-electric championship, he is determined to secure a return to F1. 

Also getting behind the wheel of the 2021-spec A521 car in Hungary was F2 frontrunner Jack Doohan, who rounded out the running on Thursday. 

The son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan is already part of the Alpine Academy programme and got his first taste of F1 machinery in Qatar back in May. 

The latest test provided 19-year-old Doohan with further F1 experience, as well as giving him the chance to show off his credentials. 

Doohan has enjoyed an impressive rookie F2 season and currently sits fourth in the championship, having followed up sprint race wins at Silverstone and Hungary with his first feature race victory in Belgium. 

While Doohan is under consideration for a 2023 seat with Alpine, the team would prefer for the Australian to make his F1 debut in a less-pressured environment.

The outside bets 

Free agent Daniel Ricciardo is on the lookout for an F1 drive after losing his McLaren seat to Piastri for 2023.

Despite going through an awkward breakup at the end of 2020, Szafnauer said Alpine would have no issue in bringing Ricciardo back to Enstone. 

After all, with eight grand prix victories under his belt, Ricciardo remains a strong option, even after his well-documented struggles at McLaren. 

Aside from Szafnauer’s comments at the start of August, talk of Ricciardo going back to Alpine has gone quiet, and the Australian’s recent admission suggests he is bracing for a year on the F1 sidelines. 

Could another one of Alpine’s former drivers make a comeback instead? 

F1 veteran Nico Hulkenberg is a known quantity at the Anglo-French outfit and a reliable option. 

Hulkenberg last raced full-time in F1 with Renault in 2019 but has made a handful of substitute appearances for Racing Point and Aston Martin when their regular drivers were sidelined with COVID-19. 

However, the 34-year-old German is believed to be a front-running candidate to replace Mick Schumacher at Haas next season 

Fellow compatriot Schumacher has also been linked with Alpine as he looks to stay on the F1 grid. 

Ocon named the son of seven-time world champion Michael as his preferred teammate, though realistically, Schumacher is only thought to have an outside shot of landing the spare Alpine seat.