The French manufacturer have unexpectedly been left with a vacated seat to fill for 2023 in the wake of Alonso’s shock switch to Aston Martin for next season, a move which was confirmed at the start of August. Alpine announced their reserve driver Oscar Piastri would be promoted but the 2021 F2 champion denied he had signed to race for the team, who went on to lose a contract battle with McLaren for his services. Speaking in an interview with the official F1 website, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi stressed the team will take their time over a decision. “We don’t want to rush…