Formula 1: Another unexpected seat is open for 2023

Fernando Alonso made a rather surprising decision to leave Alpine for Aston Martin after the 2022 Formula 1 season, opening up another seat.

Last week, four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel was the one in the news after announcing that he plans to retire once the 2022 season concludes in November.

This announcement unexpectedly opened up a seat alongside Lance Stroll at Aston Martin for 2023, as it had previously been reported that Vettel and the team were in talks about potentially extending his deal through next year.

This week, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is the one in the news after announcing that he plans to leave Alpine and replace Vettel at Aston Martin in 2023.

While one seat that unexpectedly opened up is now filled, another one has now unexpectedly opened up.

Alonso was in a similar situation to Vettel in that both had been reported to be in talks with their current teams about new contracts for 2023.

Now neither one will be back with their current teams next year, and following the first official driver change announcement in this year’s silly season, things could get even crazier with the opening up of the second Alpine seat.

Fortunately for the French outfit, they will only have to worry about filling one seat, as Esteban Ocon is under contract through the 2024 season. However, replacing Alonso is obviously no easy task.

Alonso made his Formula 1 return in 2021 after spending two years “retired”, and he did so because he believed in the Alpine project. Now after not even two seasons, he has decided that it is time to move on to something new.

Oscar Piastri is the name most heavily linked with Alpine for 2023, but considering that the team likely believed Alonso was going to stay, the plan may very well be for them to loan him out to another team before bringing him on board in 2024.

So while we now know the next step of Alonso’s “El Plan”, what is the next step for Alpine?