Pierre Gasly Lobbies Carlos Sainz for Alpine Switch

Pierre Gasly is attempting to persuade Carlos Sainz to join Alpine as Sainz leaves Ferrari to make room for Lewis Hamilton. Alpine seeks to fill its driver vacancy with Sainz, despite interest from Sauber and Williams. Sainz's decision holds potential implications for the Formula One driver market.

Pierre Gasly has been actively lobbying Carlos Sainz to join him at Renault-owned Alpine, but like everyone else in Formula One, Gasly is waiting for Sainz's decision. The Spaniard is set to leave Ferrari at the end of the season, making way for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

"I think Alpine has good options on the table," Gasly told reporters at the Hungarian Grand Prix. "At the end of the day, it's not up to me. I welcome the fastest guy out there. We all know who it is. But, yeah, we've got to wait. The team has three good options."

Alpine must fill a vacancy after announcing Esteban Ocon's departure at the end of the year. They could promote reserve driver Jack Doohan or Mick Schumacher, who is looking for a return. Sauber and Williams are also interested in Sainz. Despite the speculation, Sainz mentioned jokingly that he's closer to a decision while watching Spain win the European Championship soccer tournament.

(With inputs from agencies.)