Antonio Giovinazzi is the latest Formula 1 driver whose presence has been confirmed at an upcoming Alpine test in Budapest. Set to take place between Tuesday 20th and Thursday 22nd September, at the Hungaroring, as Formula.Hu revealed,Alpine are running a 2021-spec car in order to evaluate candidates ahead of deciding who to replace Fernando Alonso with. The team's original plan was to promote reserve driver Oscar Piastri to partner Esteban Ocon in 2023, but the Australian rebuked Alpine's public statement confirming him. Having delayed sorting Piastri's contract too long, and then wanting to send him to Williams, Piastri's camp grew frustrated, and subsequently he signed with McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo. The vacancy has been linked with names such as Pierre Gasly - but that deal is thought to depend on AlphaTauri being able to sign Colton Herta as his replacement. The stumbling block is that Herta does not have the required number of superlicence points, and is unlikely to granted a waiver by the FIA. As such, Alpine's attention has moved onto different candidates, with Giovinazzi the latest name linked with the seat.
Giovinazzi to test for Alpine
The Italian driver, who left Alfa Romeo at the end of 2021 has spent a season in Formula E - which proved nothing short of a disaster with zero points. He is keen to return to F1, with his Ferrari links helping him secure two FP1 outings for the Haas team - where he is also a candidate to replace Mick Schumacher who is expected to depart after two seasons with the outfit. As RacingNews365 reported, the likes of Nyck De Vries, Jack Doohan and possibly Colton Herta are also set to drive in the three-day test - with Alpine said to be keen on promoting Doohan from F2 in 2024. Schumacher was an outside contender as he looks to try and stay in F1 - while Sebastian Vettel was originally meant to be testing as he mulls over what to do once he retires, but has subsequently decided against doing so.
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