Alpine has reportedly showed up at the last hour on Carlos Sainz’s doorstep to hand the outgoing Ferrari driver an attractive offer for 2025.
Sainz is expected to reveal any day now his next destination after Ferrari, with Williams and Audi/Sauber are the rumored front-runners to secure the Spaniard’s coveted services.
But ahead of last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, the whisper in the paddock was that the three-time Grand Prix winner had signed and sealed a deal with Williams, and that an announcement was pending.
Communication from the involved parties was even expected on Saturday but was rumored to have been delayed, to avoid overwhelming Sainz with too much media attention at his home race.
However, a potential deal between Sainz and Williams - if not yet set in stone - may have been delayed by Alpine’s late bid, likely put together by the Enstone squad’s recently appointed executive advisor, Flavio Briatore.
The astute Italian is already hard at work devising a plan to turn around his former Renault team’s future and assembling the French outfit’s driver line-up for 2025 is certainly part of his attributions.
According to Motorsport.com, talks are now ongoing between Alpine and Sainz’s management. It’s unclear however if the Ferrari driver would be interested in linking up with Alpine given the team’s subdued results - despite its double points finish in Barcelona - and unstable management.
Nevertheless, a deal with Alpine would be a homecoming of sorts for Sainz who raced for Renault in 2018.
Regardless, the French outfit will need to contract with two drivers for 2025. While Esteban Ocon’s departure has already been confirmed, Pierre Gasly’s deal runs out at the end of the year.
Many believe Gasly will remain with Alpine but the 28-year-old has also drawn the interest of Audi/Sauber as a potential teammate to Nico Hulkenberg, so the one-time Grand Prix winner’s future is still undecided.
Another driver rumored to have become a person of interest for Alpine is Mick Schumacher.
The Mercedes reserve and former Haas driver is still holding on to his dream of returning to F1 and already has a relationship with Alpine through his commitment to the brand’s hypercar involvement in the World Endurance Championship.
As part of Alpine’s evaluations, Schumacher is set to test a 2022-spec A522 at Paul Ricard on July 3. But the young German won’t be the only one to take to the track on that day, with Alpine reserve Jack Doohan also earmarked for the test.
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