F1 rumour: Pierre Gasly set to earn eight-figure annual salary at Alpine

Pierre Gasly is reportedly set to earn as much as €15 million (£13.15m) per year in his time with Alpine, which would make him one of the highest-paid drivers on the Formula 1 grid.

A report from sport business website Sportune in France claims that Gasly’s two-year contract with Alpine, signing him for 2023 and 2024, could put him on an estimated €15m salary – matching the rumoured current wages of Fernando Alonso.

Having started with a 14-driver shortlist at Alpine, Gasly has long been known as the team’s preferred candidate to replace Alonso, with AlphaTauri wanting to ensure a strong replacement was in place before they would release the Frenchman from his contract for 2023.

Nyck de Vries will take his place with Red Bull’s sister team next year, with the Dutchman’s stand-in performance for Williams at Monza reportedly piquing Helmut Marko’s interest in signing the 27-year-old.

With their move for IndyCar’s Colton Herta having broken down, De Vries’ entry into the fray is thought to have opened the door for Gasly to make the switch to Alpine, with Red Bull allowing his release – at a significant cost to Alpine – when the Dutchman was lined up as a replacement.

For all the talk of the tricky relationship between these two, who do you think will come out on top in the in-team battle at Alpine next year? 🤔 #F1 pic.twitter.com/vikGVHlnsp

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) October 11, 2022

Sportune’s report also claims Gasly’s deal with AlphaTauri would have risen up to €10m in 2023 after Sergio Perez renewed his contract with Red Bull, his pay rise reportedly relating to not being re-promoted to the senior team.

Would Pierre Gasly justify a status as one of F1’s highest earners?

If these figures prove to be correct, Gasly would shoot up the list of the highest-earning Formula 1 drivers, and given the rumoured figure surrounding his AlphaTauri deal next year, his management would likely have been pushing for more for him to move teams mid-contract.

Given Alonso’s high earnings as well, it is clear that the team would have been in a position to afford such a figure – alongside the release fee they will have paid to Red Bull.

Regardless of the annual wage Gasly will earn at Alpine, the team have made a significant investment to get him in from a rival team on the grid, with a queue of drivers having already been lining up for the drive alongside Esteban Ocon next year.

Gasly’s performances since dropping back to AlphaTauri from Red Bull have seen his stock rise to arguably a higher level than when he was promoted to Red Bull in the first instance.

He has stamped his authority as a team leader at AlphaTauri, taken a race victory, and has now been given a chance at a factory team to show what he can do moving forward.

If the figures reported are correct, he will have plenty of expectation to live up to, but Gasly is at a stage in his career where he looks ready to make the next step up.

Read more: Christian Horner’s comments on cost cap resurface from 2020 Red Bull column