Pierre Gasly says the relationship with Esteban Ocon has been professional all-through despite the differences they have had.
The differences between Alpine pair Gasly and Ocon is well known. They had issues from karting itself and it continued on in junior formulas and even in F1. But their journey had a twist when they became teammates last year when they were signed up by Renault.
Everyone expected a volatile situation which did happen for a while or it has been on and off but nothing major has happened. Gasly notes of a professional relationship which has surprised him a bit as he reckons it has worked out better than expected.
“It has been very professional,” said Gasly to media. “And that was, to me, that was the most important. We’ve got to work as a professional, we’ve got to push the team forward, we’ve got to extract the maximum out of the people we’re working with. And ultimately we both want to be the most competitive possible.
“On that side it actually worked out probably better than I even thought at the start. We had obviously a couple of words. But then yeah, we keep it very professional and that’s it,” summed up Gasly, who also hyped Ocon for him joining Haas in 2025 as a veteran alongside a rookie Oliver Bearman.
He expects him to be a challenge for the young British racer. “As a driver, it’s very clear what you got do in Formula 1,” said Gasly. “It’s all about speed obviously. Obviously he’s going to come as a rookie in Formula, so no experience. The challenge of Formula 1, comes with different challenges which you may not face earlier in your career.
“So all of a sudden you got 25 races, it’s a long season, it’s more physical, a lot more demanding from a team point of view, you’re working with a thousand people all of a sudden, you’re able to have a real impact on the car development, car pieces, the work in the simulator, the media exposure.
“Obviously, it’s still down to the same thing. You’ve still got to be as fast and the fastest possible in the car. And at the end of the day, that’s what he should care the most about, for sure. He’s going to find his feet in this environment, already has some good experience. But it’s going to be a good benchmark for Ollie to have Esteban next to him.
“On a personal side, I’m happy to see Esteban still remains in F1 because, regardless of our relationship. He’s definitely a driver worth to be in Formula 1 and part of the 20 best. So It’s great and I’m happy to see that he’ll still be on the grid next year,” summed up Gasly.
Here’s Esteban Ocon on joining Haas
Here’s Pierre Gasly on Alpine being transparent
Here’s Bruno Famin on his exit, PU situation
Here’s Alpine confirms Oliver Oakes as team principal
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