AlphaTauri says 2023 seat will likely go to Gasly or Herta

AlphaTauri is awaiting a decision from the FIA on Colton Herta's eligibility to compete in Formula One next season, and it said Saturday the delay is affecting the team's planning for its 2023 lineup.

Pierre Gasly is currently under contract to AlphaTauri via a deal with Red Bull, but Alpine would like the Frenchman to fill the seat opening when Fernando Alonso leaves at the end of the season. It would require McLaren to release its F1 rights to Herta, the 22-year-old Californian seeking to become the first American on the F1 grid since Alexander Rossi in 2015.

Herta does not have the required Super License needed to race in F1, so any deal is contingent on an FIA ruling.

“The latest on Pierre is that he has a contract with us,” AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost said Saturday ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. “And regarding Colton Herta, it’s a decision from the FIA whether he gets the Super License or not, and I hope that FIA will take this decision as soon as possible so that we know how to build up the team and where to go for next year.”

Tost was then asked if AlphaTauri might look into the Red Bull junior driver academy for a replacement for Gasly, or if F2 driver Liam Lawson might be in the mix. AlphaTauri is the junior program for Red Bull, and Tost indicated a driver decision will come from above and be either Gasly or Herta.

“This is a decision from Red Bull, which driver they will bring into the team,” Tost said. “But I think if it’s not Colton Herta, then Pierre Gasly will stay and nothing will change.”

But any hope of Herta receiving an exemption on the Super License — and Herta said Friday he'd prefer to earn the license and not receive an FIA exemption — seemed to be waning in discussions happening in