Szafnauer says Alpine had 'discussions' with Ricciardo

Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer says the French outfit touched base with Daniel Ricciardo after the Aussie and McLaren announced their split.

While the announcement in early August of Fernando Alonso's transfer from Alpine to Aston Martin came out of the blue, the parting of the ways between McLaren and Ricciardo was a minor surprise given the latter's struggles with the papaya squad.

However, in the wake of the news, speculation regarding Ricciardo's potential return to Enstone quickly ramped up. But the momentum behind that conjecture quickly fizzled.

Last weekend in Japan, after Alpine confirmed Pierre Gasly's arrival for 2023, Szfanauer revealed that he had held talks with Ricciardo, but the American did not disclose why they were short-lived, although the reason for the snub may have been founded in Renault Group boss Luca de Meo's rumored aversion to hiring back a driver that had unceremoniously walked out on the team just 24 months earlier.

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"Well, at the beginning we discussed with a few drivers, including Daniel," simply said the Alpine chief.

“Pierre meets the criteria 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."

For Alpine, the opportunity to field a pair of talented French drivers was just too good to pass up, as de Meo's first words suggested when the team made its announcement at Suzuka.

"We are proud to present an all-French driver line up from 2023," he said.

In hindsight, Alpine's determination to secure Gasly's services begs the question why it convened three drivers - Nyck de Vries, Jack Doohan and Antonio Giovinazzi - to test for the team in Budapest just days before the announcement.

Szafnauer said the test had been penciled into Alpine's agenda well in advance.

"Well, those are tests that are planned well in advance of the test actually happening," he said.

"It wasn't quite clear about Pierre, although he was, like I said, on out shortlist, but he was still contracted.

"So we ran the three [drivers] in Budapest to assess their ability, and they all did a great job. We definitely learned from it."

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