Pierre Gasly is harboring big hopes for his F1 future with Alpine, but the Frenchman is also expecting an "emotional" end to his tenure with AlphaTauri next week in Abu Dhabi.
Since joining motorsport's elite in the latter part of the 2017 season, Gasly has spent his entire time within the Red Bull family and most of it with Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri.
The high point of his 59-race stint with the sister Red Bull outfit was undeniably his remarkable win at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 2020.
But over the years, many close relationships were built with his colleagues at Faenza, a surrogate family of sorts, which has left him with a current blend of emotions mixing the past and the future.
"Honestly, you get both feelings and emotions," he told RACER.
"I’m really excited for the future, I see it as a big opportunity working with a manufacturer in Alpine and looking at the steps they are making over the last few years, definitely confident there are big things to achieve with this team and I’m very excited about it.
"On the other hand, this place is like a family. I’ve always felt at home in AlphaTauri, very close to the team in Faenza.
"It’s a smaller team, every single mechanic, every single engineer become friends, so I sort of grew up with them in my F1 career so far.
"So obviously emotional to leave but it’s also how a career goes and based on the ambitions and what I want to achieve in F1 I know it’s also the right time to make a move and take another direction.
"But these last races, it hasn’t hit me yet, but Abu Dhabi is going to be emotionally very special."
Although he'll be leaving many friends behind upon the completion of his final race with AlphaTauri, Gasly is convinced he'll be taking a step forward in 2023 when he replaces Fernando Alonso at Alpine.
For the 26-year-old Grand Prix driver, his move to Enstone is all about "fighting at the front".
"I felt it was needed because I’ve been with the team at AlphaTauri for quite a few years and I’ve contributed as much as I could to the success of this team over the last couple of years, really giving everything that I could," he said.
"But ultimately I also want to be fighting at the front.
"I see the guys that I’ve fought in my career fighting at the front of the grid – Max getting championships, Charles fighting for championships, George being there, Lando (Norris) also getting his chances – and I do see myself there.
"That’s where I want to fight and where I want to be fighting weekend after weekend.
"I think Alpine will be a great step and based on their development I know they have what it takes to match my expectations and my ambitions."
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