Alpine targets Gasly as Ocon says he wants Schumacher
Sky Sports says it has learned that Alpine is not prepared to move on from Oscar Piastri but has made enquiries about Pierre Gasly, while Esteban Ocon has made it clear that he wants Mick Schumacher to race alongside him next year.
The contract dispute between Piastri, Alpine and McLaren was heard by the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB) on Monday, but the body may not offer an immediate ruling clarifying the Australian’s future. Alpine remain confident the CRB will rule in their favour and still see a way back for Piastri, who maintains he will not drive for them in 2023.
Alpine are interested in an all-French line-up by signing Gasly, who has been part of the Red Bull family since joining F1 in 2017 and recently signed a new contract for next season with sister outfit Alpha Tauri. It’s understood Alpine are prepared to pay Red Bull to get Gasly out of his contract which he signed earlier in the year allowing him to leave Alpha Tauri.
At Spa, Gasly said, “At the moment I don’t really want to make too many comments because I haven’t seen anything. The most important is to perform with the car that I have, and then we’ll see.” Asked if there would be any news this week, Gasly added: “Not from my side.”
Red Bull has indicated that Gasly would be allowed to leave the team in the right circumstances, but the driver market has effectively stalled while the CRB decide on the Piastri dispute. The fact that the team has signed Sergio Perez for a few years and Max Verstappen is on a long-term deal, it means that Gasly has no chance to join Red Bull in the short term.
Piastri has a deal agreed with McLaren for 2023 although any confirmation is on hold until the CRB ruling.
Gasly has been long been touted to spread his wings and leave the Red Bull programme, having proven himself with the sister team – even winning a race in 2020. He would also be an ideal fit for Renault and Alpine given the appeal of an all-French line-up with Ocon.
But there is believed to be a fractured relationship between Ocon and Gasly going back to their time karting together. While Ocon played that down over the weekend, he said he wants Haas driver Schumacher as his team-mate. The Frenchman said, “I completely trust Laurent [Rossi, Alpine CEO] and Otmar [Szafnauer, team principal] and the bosses, they are going to be pretty busy.”
Schumacher’s Haas seat is at risk for 2023 and he is a contender for Alpine along with Daniel Ricciardo, who the team also have not ruled out.
Red Bull Porsche deal not done
Christian Horner says that no decision has yet been made regarding Red Bull joining forces with Porsche for its 2026 power unit programme. The Red Bull team principal made it clear that the team doesn’t need Porsche to finance its power unit project.
If the deal doesn’t happen the new engine could simply run under the Red Bull name or that of any other manufacturer willing to pay to badge it. Horner also played down suggestions that RBR could still be running with Honda power under the new regulations.
On Friday it was confirmed that Audi announced that it has registered with the FIA as a PU supplier for 2026, although it gave no details of its plan to eventually take over and rebrand the Sauber team. However, it has not given any confirmation whether fellow VW Group brand Porsche will return to the sport after three decades.
The provisional plan is for Porsche to became a shareholder in the operation and for the PU to carry the Stuttgart manufacturer’s name in what in effect will be a marketing arrangement, with only a small number of Porsche engineers eventually working at the RBP facility.
Motorsport.com says it has learned, there is still a debate about key matters such as future shareholdings and voting rights, while an impending Porsche initial public offering is also a complication in terms of finalising any arrangements.
There have been suggestions that some in the Red Bull camp would prefer to stick with Honda for the long term. Despite pulling out as a brand at the end of 2021, the Japanese manufacturer greed to supply RBR and AlphaTauri with the current PU until the end of 2025.
However, Honda’s management has also indicated that it is considering a full return under the 2026 regulations with a new PU. The obvious problem is that if Red Bull is committed to Porsche then Honda will have to look elsewhere for a partner team, with Williams one of the few obvious options given that a return to McLaren would be impossible.
In theory, Red Bull and Alpha Tauri could run different PU manufacturers, although that clashes with the company philosophy of sharing technology such as gearboxes across its two teams.
Honda withdrew from the sport ostensibly to focus its engineers on new road car technologies, and pursuing F1 R&D in partnership with the Red Bull operation in the UK could be seen to gel with the original decision. While Porsche has no plan B as its understood that if it were to join forces with another team, such as McLaren or Williams, it would have to badge the Audi engine.
Horner stressed that with or without Porsche support Red Bull is fully committed to its own PU programme, having already recruited 300 staff of an eventual total of up to 450, and that what badge the new engine ultimately carries is not relevant. He suggested because the RBP project is already underway there is no urgency to finalise what name will be on the cam covers.
In theory, manufacturers have to notify the FIA of their intention to be a PU supplier for 2026 and pay a fee by October 15, in order to have the right to vote on any future rule changes and so on, although it’s understood that the date is now under discussion between the governing body and the existing manufacturers.
Regarding the October deadline, Horner noted: “There is a date. But that doesn’t preclude a deal being done after the 15th. So Red Bull Powertrains will be supplying two teams in 2026.”
Horner downplayed the suggestion that there’s a debate within the Red Bull camp over what route to take. Adding “Well, no, because it fundamentally won’t change anything, because the way that the company is constructed, we have Red Bull Powertrains that will be producing an engine for 2026.
Hamilton says “nice to know how” Alonso feels
Lewis Hamilton says it is “nice to know how” his former teammate Fernando Alonso “feels about me” following their first lap crash in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. The two-time champion called the seven-time champion “an idiot” who “only knows how to drive and start in first.”
The Mercedes driver who has taken responsibility for the accident said he would have spoken to Alonso about the incident “until I heard what he said”. He told BBC News, “I know that’s how things feel in the heat of the moment, but it’s nice to know how he feels about me.”
The two were disputing second place at the time, and the incident caused Hamilton’s retirement after less than a lap and made Spaniard Alonso drop to fourth after he had moved up from third to second at the start. Hamilton said the incident was “definitely my fault”, adding, “Just didn’t leave quite enough space. Wasn’t intentional. Just happened.”
His Mercedes went up on two wheels and Hamilton said he “nearly broke my back coming down”. He added: “I remember just looking at the ground so I knew I was quite high. Definitely high. Grateful to be alive and in shape.”
The two drivers’ rivalry and bitter history date back to qualifying in Budapest in 2007, but while the two fight hard they also express the highest regards for each other’s ability on track.
The two were team-mates at McLaren in 2007, Hamilton’s debut season in F1, and finished tied on points after four wins each. Hamilton was classified ahead in the championship, one point behind winner Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, on results count-back.
Alonso left the team at the end of that season to re-join Renault, currently Alpine. Despite the rivalry the two had appeared to develop a cordial and more respectful, Hamilton has regularly described Alonso as the most talented and fastest driver he has ever raced against, and Alonso has also always been highly complimentary of his rival’s talents.
Asked about his radio message after the race, Alonso did not withdraw his criticism, which is questionable considering the number of times Hamilton has won from low down on the grid.
Alonso said, “Very disappointed. When I start well, on [the] first or second row, all these things happen and for sure I was frustrated in that moment. He accepted his mistake and is welcome. For me, it was a little bit of a mistake to close the door like this at Turn Five.”
He says he thought Hamilton wasn’t there anymore saying you try to use the slipstream, brake late, turn in and sometimes you don’t measure the cars [right], where everyone is. But I don’t know, I normally take more care.
Schumacher and Ferrari cut ties
Mick Schumacher’s relationship with Ferrari is to conclude in December, meaning that the German will be a free agent as he searches for a 2023 seat. The German’s original Ferrari Driver Academy contract will come to what one source called a ‘natural end’ after this season.
Although there has been no confirmation from Haas that he will leave the team, Antonio Giovinazzi is currently a favourite to land the seat alongside Kevin Magnussen. The remaining open drives on the grid include Alpine and Williams, with Schumacher’s close friend Esteban Ocon backing him as a candidate for the former.
He has also been linked to replacing Pierre Gasly if he goes to Alpine or his Alpha Tauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Schumacher could be left without a drive following a summer of driver moves, contract disputes and a merry-go-round sparked by Fernando Alonso decision to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin when the four-time champion announced his retirement.
Schumacher first became associated with Ferrari at the start of 2019, when he was announced as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, having won the previous year’s European F3 championship. He thus joined a strong group that included Callum Ilott, Marcus Armstrong, Robert Shwartzman and Enzo Fittipaldi.
Ferrari has always stressed Schumacher’s connection with the manufacturer was on merit, and not his name and his performances were behind his backing.
Team principal Mattia Binotto commented: “For someone like me who has known him from birth, there’s no doubt that welcoming Mick into Ferrari has a special emotional meaning, but we have chosen him for his talent and the human and professional qualities that have already distinguished him despite his young age.”
He was given his first F1 test in the SF90 in Bahrain in April 2019, before having a second outing for Alfa Romeo the following day. He raced with Ferrari support for the Prema F2 team in 2019 and 2020, winning the title in his second season.
His connection with Ferrari helped him to gain a seat with Haas, while he beat his teammate Nikita Mazepin consistently in an uncompetitive car. However 2022 has seen Schumacher have a series of accidents, but he scored his first points with eighth place at Silverstone, following up with a sixth place in Austria.
Schumacher was at one time touted as a potential works driver, but support for him within the camp has waned of late. With Charles Leclerc and then more recently Carlos Sainz locked into long-term deals, it has become obvious that there is no race seat on the horizon for Schumacher at the works team.
Albon buoyed by train of cars fighting him at Spa
Alex Albon has hailed the Belgian Grand Prix as one of his best races in Formula One after fending off a train of five cars in the closing stages to score a point for tenth. The British-Thai driver was prompted to sixth on the grid after various penalties, before clinging on to finish the race in the
Albon started from sixth before managing to hang on and finish the race in the points. He impressed at the start of his second stint by holding up Lance Stroll which created a train, as the Aston Martin driver started to put him under pressure, but the Williams had better straight-line speed.
As Stroll struggled to find a way through, he was caught by Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Daniel Ricciardo, all of whom had DRS on the car ahead. But Albon held on to finish tenth ahead of the train of cars behind and score his and Williams’ fourth point of the 2022 season.
He told Motorsport.com, “It was, in my opinion, one of the best races I’ve had in Formula One. It felt like that last stint just holding on, I couldn’t make any mistakes, or else we were going to get passed straight away. But the top speed saved us a little bit, and I was glad I saw the chequered flag.”
Albon was unfazed by the growing number of cars in his mirrors, saying: “The more I saw, the better I felt. I was like, you know what, the train is forming, that’s nice, that means everyone has got a bit of pressure themselves.”
He explained that when there is a train, cars behind need to follow the speed and they can’t afford to cool the tyres down or the brakes, whatever it may be. Albon has used unconventional strategies in Melbourne and Miami to score points but believes his points at Spa was “almost a pure race” that serves as a boost for Williams moving forward.
Adding, “It’s great for the team and for everyone, that’s the positivity that we need to take on with us into the next few races. It gives us good confidence going into races like Monza and these low downforce tracks. I think we can do a good job.”
McLaren losing out because of DRS – Norris
Lando Norris says that McLaren is losing out because MCL26’s DRS generates less of a speed gain than those of rivals when open. The British team had one of its most difficult weekends of the seasons at Spa, where Norris finished twelfth with teammate Daniel Ricciardo finish fifteenth.
Both drivers were part of a train of cars that became stuck behind the Williams of Alex Albon, which was extremely fast on the straight. Norris stressed that the effectiveness of the car’s DRS relative to others was a key factor at Spa, making passing harder. He told Motorsport.com, “I think we were probably one of the quicker ones on the straights. Where we lose a lot is in DRS, for some reason in DRS we’re pretty shocking.”
“Some cars are a lot better than others, like in a pure straight-line condition I think yesterday we were quicker than Red Bull. But then the Red Bull opens DRS and gains somehow like another 15km/h and is in a completely different league to a lot of people. So there’s something we’re maybe missing with DRS, so that makes our overtaking opportunities less than other people.”
This may be confusing as Norris also said McLaren was one of the quickest cars this weekend mainly in the last sector but conceded that nothing was a strength at Spa. Norris conceded that the poor race performance did not come as a surprise, saying that McLaren knew it “was going to be a lot worse here this year than it was in previous years, just because the slipstream is so much worse.”
He believes that the gaps between teams was a lot bigger than in previous years because the slip stream was worst. Norris added, “I think the gaps between all cars looked bigger this weekend than normal. A longer track, a lot of it’s all about efficiency here, running as low downforce as possible, but still having a car that performs very well in all the high-speed and low-speed corners.”
Looking ahead to Zandvoort this weekend, Norris was hoping that the car would be more suited to them, saying it could be in line with Budapest. But warned that last year it was their worst track last season.
