Although Ocon and Gasly 'never going to be great friends,' they are both eager to collaborate

If their early racing competition caused stress, Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly both claim they want a healthy working relationship as teammates.

Ocon and Gasly in a file photo (image: Twitter/@AlpineF1Team)
By Mahaksh Chauhan | Feb 19, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Despite their animosity, the two French drivers were friends when they participated in karting races together as kids. But, according to Gasly, as they grew older, their friendship broke and their relationship deteriorated. In 2018, Gasly stated, “I started to beat him and he didn’t like it, so we’re no longer friends.” We’ve spent a lot of time together, but there came a time when he became a little too upset, making things less pleasant. As a result, we sort of stopped socialising. Then after, we had quite a bit of competition. We appreciate one another as drivers, I believe.

Work together as a team

The two have each won their first grand prix since joining the Formula 1 grid, making them the first French champions since Oliver Panis in 1996. Otmar Szafnauer, team principal of Alpine, claims he has not yet noticed any signs of conflict between Gasly and Fernando Alonso. Gasly has joined Alpine for the 2023 season to take Fernando Alonso’s place. At the unveiling of the team’s A523 vehicle for the 2023 season, Szafnauer told the media present, “I’ve known Esteban for a long time and only starting to get to know Pierre, but I see no evidence of that.”

“Yeah, exactly what you’re hearing, but they’re cooperating. They recently travelled to Finland together and took the same airline there even though it wasn’t necessary. Therefore it appears that they are pals once more. “But forget about friendship; what matters most is that they collaborate because this is a team endeavour. To boost us all, they must share their track experiences and statistics, and I believe that will happen. We won’t run into any problems, I believe.

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More Mature

When compared to their early years in the world championship, Gasly and Ocon feel their relationship as teammates will improve from the fact that they are both older and more seasoned in Formula 1. “That was good. Gasly remarked, “I believe it’s been pretty excellent. “We believe that the past two months have brought us closer together than the previous eight or ten years combined. “I’m happy with how we’ve been handling things with Esteban; that was really crucial. I believe that we are both now adults. We are considerably more responsible and aware of our obligations as representatives of the Alpine team and the Renault organisation. “I have no doubt that we will be able to collaborate closely and effectively to advance the team. We will all gain from it. The team needs to operate well together before we can push them to give our best effort.

Never gonna be best friends?

In an effort to move Alpine to the front of the pack, Ocon repeats his new teammate’s comments and emphasises that both drivers want to put the team’s needs first. “We will never be best friends, but the essential thing for us is to keep the flow flowing, which generates discussion and helps the team come up with ideas. It has always been the way in motorsport. What we need to try to obtain from our squad in order to be able to compete for the front is the fact that drivers work together to identify a method of operation before teams come up with some sort of revolution.