“Pierre Gasly will be a great asset”- Esteban Ocon feels new Alpine teammate won’t need time to settle into the team

Until 2022, Pierre Gasly spent the entirety of his F1 career in the Red Bull ranks. He started his journey with Toro Rosso in 2017 and impressed Red Bull enough to get a call-up in 2019. Unfortunately, his disastrous run of form in the first half of that season led to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit demoting him back to Toro Rosso.

In 2020, Toro Rosso became AlphaTauri but Gasly stayed on with the team. He continued to put in strong performances for AlphaTauri and even won the 2020 Italian GP in Monza, which started rumors of him returning to Red Bull once again. However, with Sergio Perez’s contract with the Austrian team being renewed until the 2024 campaign, it became clear that Gasly had to look elsewhere to achieve bigger things in F1.

After Fernando Alonso announced that he would leave Alpine in 2023, the French team decided to appoint Gasly as his replacement. The Frenchman will race alongside compatriot Esteban Ocon from 2023 onwards.

Also read: “I would’ve had more podium finishes”: Daniel Ricciardo looks back on gamble he took while leaving Red Bull in 2019

Pierre Gasly will get up to speed from day one at Alpine, says Esteban Ocon

Ocon and Gasly had a troubled relationship in the past, and they weren’t on speaking terms for a long time. When Gasly’s move to Alpine became official, many questioned if the team’s dynamic will be affected by the duo’s long-standing rivalry. However, as both drivers and team boss, Otmar Szafnauer insisted, their main objective is to help the team and that they are all mature enough to make sure Alpine achieves its goals.

During an interview with Autosport, Ocon was adamant that Gasly won’t need time to settle into F1. He feels that his new teammate’s experience will help him understand the 2023 Alpine car very quickly.

“I don’t think he’s going to need much help,” he said. “I think Pierre is very experienced. He’s driven for different teams. He’s driven a lot in testing also prior to that. It’s always a learning curve of understanding the car. How you work.”

Ocon also stated that the 2023 car looked very fast on the simulator, and he hopes that he and Gasly can carry forward the work put in by the entire outfit over the last two years.

Also read: Watch: Pierre Gasly & Esteban Ocon rekindle old bromance with the Alpine 110 EV