Why AlphaTauri confirmed a driver already “100% confirmed” for F1 2023

Last week in Canada, team principal Franz Tost made abundantly clear that Gasly was going nowhere, saying he was “100% confirmed” at the team for 2023. When he was asked to expand on how talks with Gasly had gone in a 90-word question, Tost took just 10 to deadpan back: “He has a valid contract. There’s nothing more to say.”

The hubbub that followed seemed surprising. It wasn’t new information that Gasly was under contract for 2023. Back in March, he told…