“We’re Not the Best of Friends but…”: Pierre Gasly Shines the Spotlight on Other Toxic Relationships Amid Esteban Ocon Narrative

Ever since Pierre Gasly moved to Alpine, the buzz around his relationship with Esteban Ocon has picked up. The two Frenchman go way back and were friends during their karting days. However, as time passed, they grew apart and developed a fierce rivalry. Now that they are going to be teammates, their ability to work harmoniously together is under question. Gasly has now put all those doubts to rest with an attack on the rest of the grid.

Gasly appeared on the Beyond the Grid podcast in 2018. In the interview, he revealed how Esteban and he were best friends as kids and even practiced on the track together. However, the relationship turned sour once they had a few incidents while competing in World Cup, European Championship, and National Championship. Now, as adults, they have made peace with each other, according to Pierre. He recently reiterated that, while also launching an attack on other drivers.

Motorsport reported Gasly as saying, “There’s a lot of talk about this thing. Ok, we’re not the best of friends, but I get along with Ocon. We did some events together, we talked to each other, and when I look around the paddock how are the relationships between other teammates, I think there are definitely worse ones than ours. If you talk about Esteban and me, surely you could also talk about the relationship that 60% of the people in the paddock have, at least. So no, everything is fine. I’m sure we’re going to work very well together at Alpine.” [Translated using Google]

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Briefly, after the confirmation of Gasly’s signing, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi had to answer similar questions. He, too, at that time believed both drivers were mature enough to let bygones be bygones.

Pairing Pierre Gasly with Esteban Ocon was an informed decision

Alpine wanted Oscar Piastri, their reserve driver, to replace Fernando Alonso. However, McLaren signed the Australian and the Contract Regulation Board (CRB) ruled in the Woking-based team’s favor. Alpine team principal later revealed signing Gasly after that development was an informed decision.

Speaking with Motorsport, Szafnauer said, “We made an informed decision.”

“And that means talking to the entire team, including Esteban beforehand, to make sure that if we did make a decision, it’s a team sport and we have to be able to work together and optimise.”

“Esteban was very supportive, Pierre as well. They’re professionals. And they have no issue we’re working together. And hopefully the friendship will rekindle – they were friends at one point. But from a professional perspective, they’re both very happy to work with each other.”

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The 2023 season is definitely not going to be short on excitement quotient. Pairings like Gasly and Ocon’s will certainly ensure that. It will be interesting to see if both drivers can actually work together and not just in words.