There are quite a few up and coming "promising" youngsters in Formula 2. Last years winner Oscar Piastri is the one that is most talked about. Look at the previous winners - Mick Schumacher, Nyck de Vries, George Russell and Charles Leclerc. There is also a lot of young talent in Formula E. Trouble is, none of these are very likely to be dropped straight into a competitive F1 car.
There is also a lot of politics in driver placement, with many of the drivers being tied to managers or manufacturers. Mercedes supply the engine for the Aston, so they have a lot of clout in who gets to drive for them.
Piastri is 'owned' by Alpine. With Alpine now running in 4th place on the grid, they may allow him to race for another team to gain experience. Can't see him dropping straight into the Alpine alongside Ocon at the expense of Alonso. And I don't see Alonso going to Aston either - why would he go from a team challenging the big 3 to a team that currently struggles to get out of Q1.
Aston have just signed Alonso so Merc haven't had much say in that one I wouldn't think
AIUI the negotiation over engines is often along the lines of...
A) You buy our engines at £100 Million per year
B) You buy our engines at £50 Million per year, and we loan you Driver X for the season and we pay portion Y of their wages.
If you don't need the money, and/or you think you can get a better driver, then you opt for A.
If you're skint then B.
Aston have obviously decided on A, and that a 41 year old Alonso is better than any other options available to them. What's in it for Alonso is a mystery to me - he can't need the money can he?
I was pondering it during yesterdays GP. Aston certainly need an experienced driver, so I could see Ricciardo partnering Stroll, and someone like Piastri partnering Norris at Mclaren. Maybe Alpine think Piastry is ready for the Alpine seat, but it looks a big risk to me to have Ocon and Piastri - two rookies - in the same team.
Still I doubt that will be the last "shocking" move now we're in silly season.