Esteban Ocon bought his first kart during his junior racing career from future Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly’s brother.
Speculation surrounding Alpine’s driver line-up has finally been put to rest. Frenchman Pierre Gasly will join the Enstone-based outfit in 2023, ending his association with Red Bull, a team whose ranks he’s been in throughout his F1 career.
The talking point of Gasly’s move to Alpine, however, has been his partnership with Ocon. The two of them were friends during their early racing days but the relationship turned sour after they made it big in F1. They don’t have a good relationship anymore, which is something team boss Otmar Szafnauer isn’t concerned about.
In a recent Twitter post, reputed F1 journalist Joe Saward revealed a very interesting fact about Ocon’s career. According to him, the first-ever kart he bought was purchased from Gasly’s brother! The current Alpine driver started his junior career before Gasly did, which suggests that the two have a connection in the racing world even before they went up against one another.
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How Esteban Ocon became the reason Pierre Gasly started his F1 journey
Gasly was a huge football fan as a child. Ocon revealed in the Beyond the Grid podcast that his childhood friend’s main aim in life was to become a football player until he drove his kart for the first time. This mainly happened because their parents were very close.
When Ocon and Gasly were about seven years old, Gasly was playing football at a karting event where Ocon was driving. The latter’s dad asked Gasly to take Ocon’s kart out for a spin, something which he did. That was the first time he ever drove a kart, and it ended up being something he pursued in life.
“I was driving go-karts one day,” Ocon said. “And he was there playing football. So my dad said, ‘Why don’t you try Esteban’s go-kart?’ “And after that, he quit football! So, from the beginning of my career, we’ve known each other basically.”
Also read: When Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon cropped each other out in same photo
Alpine boss hoping that their 2023 drivers rekindle their lost friendship
Ocon and Gasly were very close as kids, but had a huge falling apart after reaching F1. A lot of people feel that this will destabilize the environment at Alpine, but team principal Otmar Szafnauer isn’t very concerned about the same.
Szafnauer revealed that both drivers are very professional and they had a talk with each other before the signing was made official. “Esteban was very supportive, Pierre as well,” he said.
“They’re professionals. And they have no issue 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.”
Keeping their potential rivalry aside, the two talented French drivers teaming up together is a hugely exciting move on paper which can take the team to big heights.
