Esteban Ocon wants Mick Schumacher to be his new Alpine teammate amid links to Pierre Gasly

Esteban Ocon wants Mick Schumacher to be his new teammate amid reports Alpine want Pierre Gasly to join the team.

Alpine are currently on the hunt for a new driver following Fernando Alonso’s shock decision to move to Aston Martin for 2023, and Oscar Piastri’s refusal to drive for them.

The French team had announced reserve driver Piastri as part of their driver line-up for next season, only for the Formula 2 champion to claim just hours later that he had not signed a deal with them, with the Australian seemingly agreeing to drive for McLaren instead.

The dispute between Alpine, Piastri and McLaren is currently being evaluated by the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board to determine who the driver is contracted to for 2023, but reports suggest that even if Alpine win their case, Piastri may no longer be their first choice for the seat.

Instead, AlphaTauri star Gasly has emerged as their preferred pick which would allow Alpine to complete an all-French line-up.

While he has struggled with his car’s performance this season, Gasly has proven himself to be one of the most underrated drivers on the grid over the past couple of years, picking up three podiums for the mid-table team including a win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

But with Red Bull’s driver line-up of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez locked in until at least 2024, Gasly’s chances of returning to the senior team are very slim, so an exit from the team’s programme may prove appealing.

Earlier this season, he signed a new deal to keep him with AlphaTauri until the end of 2023, and at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix refused to discuss any transfer speculation.

The 26-year-old said: ‘At the moment I don’t really want to make too many comments because I haven’t seen anything. No