Pierre Gasly says media reports about his longstanding feud with Alpine F1 teammate Esteban Ocon “make him laugh”.
Pierre Gasly will join the Alpine F1 Team in 2023 to replace Fernando Alonso, who left Scuderia AlphaTauri and moved to Aston Martin, partnering Esteban Ocon.
Both originally from Normandy, France, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon grew up together on the French karting circuit.
Both are now seasoned F1 drivers and their teenage feuds are a thing of the past. Neither driver saw any problems, but even before the Alpine F1 Team announced the arrival of Pierre Gasly, there was media speculation that their partnership would be short-lived.
“I know they want to sell this story,” Pierre Guthrie told Channel 4.
“To me, it’s no secret that our relationship has had its ups and downs, but he’s the man I’ve known the longest in 20 years.”
“We grew up together. I think we’ve dusted off a lot of dust since we came to Formula 1. Now it works and I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t work.”
“At the end of the day, in a way, it’s kind of funny that the media is focusing on this story and trying to push it.”
Pierre Gasly, like many of his team-mates, believes an intra-squad rivalry with Esteban Ocon is inevitable, but says it’s important the tug-of-war doesn’t become a dead end.
“If you look down the pit lane, every team has a rivalry,” Gasly added.
“The most important thing is to have a healthy rivalry, not be toxic.”
“Rivalry within a team is nothing new to anyone, but you have to be mature and smart enough to advance the team.”
“Everyone on the track is doing their best, but you have to respect that. All the articles and people seem to want to push that story, but I’m not too concerned about it.”
Pierre Gasly joins the Alpine F1 Team after a disappointing 2022 season with Scuderia AlphaTauri, finishing 4th in the ‘best of the rest’ classification behind the big three teams in the constructors’ standings.
The Alpine F1 Team aims to continue moving up the level and Pierre Gasly is a firm believer in the new team’s potential.
“They are the fourth strongest team on the grid this season. Our next target is the top three, the big three.”
“I really believe it’s possible. They’ve made great progress over the last few years.”
“They definitely have some speed and if they can take the car one step further for next season, I think they will be a strong challenger for the top five and top three.
Category: F1 / Pierre Gutri / Esteban Ocon / Alpine
