“Far Too Many Races Where…”: Pierre Gasly Buries Heartbreaking Disappointments to Focus on the “Ingredient” Important to Launch Needed Comeback

Pierre Gasly gave AlphaTauri 50% of its wins in F1 during his time with the Red Bull sister team. While he had been part of the Red Bull family since his days as a junior, midway through the 2022 season, he decided to leave the family and team that gave him his first win to join another—one that is closer to his heart, one that is closer to his home—Alpine. The French team based in Enstone now has an all-French line-up with Gasly and Esteban Ocon. And with the two, the team is looking to continue its upward trajectory.

With Ocon and Fernando Alonso in their seats in 2022, Alpine finished P4 in the constructors’ standings. And this year, it aims to do one better and finish P3. It is a big ask, but Gasly believes he knows what the team needs to do to achieve it.

Pierre Gasly believes consistency is key

After a rough start to the season and barely any points finish, Alpine got a hard-hitting wake-up call from its CEO, Laurent Rossi. After this, the team got back on track, made a few upgrades to the car, and scored double-point finishes in all three most recent races. And the double-point finishes included a podium, too, courtesy of Ocon’s P3 at the Monaco GP.

In a recent F1 interview, as reported by f1i.com, Gasly opened up about Alpine’s performances lately, especially at the Monaco GP. He said, “It [the podium] just shows that when we get things right, all the small details, as well as having some fortune on our side, we have what it takes to seize opportunities ahead of us and come away with a big reward.” Ocon started P3 in the race after Charles Leclerc was handed a three-place grid penalty post-qualifying. Despite the changing weather conditions, Ocon held his position during the race and brought the car home in P3.

While Ocon finished third, Gasly finished seventh. But he knew he could’ve done much better considering the car’s performance. Looking back at a few races this season, he recalled, “There have been far too many races where I have the speed but without the end result to show for it.” But he is hopeful that in the long run, Alpine has a chance to compete against and maybe beat at least one, if not all, of its direct competitors—Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari. “Finding consistency will be key to reaching our goals and really competing with these teams.”

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He added that the team has all the ingredients it needs to go neck-to-neck with the others, and it just needs to “mix them the right way!” Gasly and Ocon seem to have put aside their past, and Alpine looks like it will only get better as the season progresses.

Gasly and Ocon have sorted through their differences

Ever since Fernando Alonso announced that he would leave Alpine in 2023 and Alpine signed Gasly to replace him, people were anticipating what it would be like for Pierre and Esteban to become teammates, given their history. It is a known fact in the F1 community that Gasly and Ocon have shared a bitter rivalry since their karting days. But during a recent interview, he said that they went through their ups and downs but have worked through them.

So far this season, there haven’t been any incidents or flaring tempers between the two, and the team seems to be working well. They really have put aside their differences and are working to improve the team.

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Will Alpine be able to win out in the fight for P3 this season?