Future Alpine teammates Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly once cropped each other out in the same photograph.
Speculation surrounding Alpine’s 2023 driver lineup has finally come to an end now that they’ve announced Gasly as their Fernando Alonso replacement. The Frenchman spent his whole F1 career up until now within the Red Bull ranks.
At Alpine, he will team up with Esteban Ocon, a driver with whom he shares a longstanding rivalry. The two of them were friends as kids but their relationship soured when they made it to Formula 1. This is why when rumors suggesting Gasly’s switch to Alpine emerged, a lot of people felt it was impossible because of his issues with Ocon.
Their relationship has been so poor over the years that they once cropped each other out of the same photo that both of them posted. Both drivers attended the Cannes film festival and were in the same photo frame. However, when they posted the picture on Instagram, they both had each other’s figures cut out!
Also read: Why Jenson Button does not want Daniel Ricciardo to sign up for Mercedes job
Alpine hoping that Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon ‘rekindle’ their friendship
Many people feel that Ocon and Gasly being on the same team is bound to cause problems. However, team principal Otmar Szafnauer revealed that it’s something that they discussed with both drivers before making the move official.
Szafnauer is aware of their poor friendship but insists that they’re both professionals. This is why he expects them to maintain a civil relationship and perform collectively to help the team maximize their goals.
“Esteban was very supportive, Pierre as well,” Szafnauer 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.”
The Alpine boss also thinks that the fact that Gasly and Ocon know each other very well can be used to their advantage. He’s sure that the two French drivers will take the team to new heights.
Also read: When Kimi Raikkonen went off track to take a shortcut at the 2012 Brazilian GP
Daniel Ricciardo loses out on Alpine seat
When it was announced that Alonso would leave Alpine and Ricciardo was being axed by McLaren, many thought that the Enstone-based outfit would be the latter’s favorite destination. He was with the team from 2019-2020 and performed well by earning two podium finishes.
However, with time it was clear that Alpine were looking elsewhere. Ricciardo meanwhile has his F1 future up in the air since no team has been strongly interested in him up until now. Haas, Williams, and AlphaTauri are the remaining teams with an open seats but other drivers are more heavily linked to those spots.
As for Ricciardo, he’s most likely to take a sabbatical year. Earlier this year, he admitted that it’s something that he has come to terms with. Despite that, the honey badger refuses to give up on his F1 dream and vows to return in 2024.
