Gasly: Partnership with Ocon not easy, but ‘it’s always been good’

Pierre Gasly says his working relationship with outgoing Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon hasn’t always been easy, but overall it’s always been a good he insists.  collaboration.

Pairing Ocon and Gasly, countrymen who grew up racing karts together, always promised a unique dynamic at Alpine.

During their junior careers, the camaraderie between the two young Normans soured, transforming their early friendship into a fiercely competitive relationship.

With this backstory in mind, many wondered how it would translate onto the track for Alpine.

Addressing the media ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, and almost two weeks after their high-profile clash in the Monaco Grand Prix, Gasly shed light on his experience as Ocon's teammate.

“It’s a long story between Esteban and myself,” the Alpine charger explained. “I think so far in the last year and a half, we’ve managed to work and cooperate very professionally, so I think this is important to mention.

“It hasn’t always been easy, as you would imagine from two very competitive drivers, but considering the story between us I think it’s been good.”

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Addressing the controversial incident that took place in Monaco between his teammate and himself, Gasly admitted that ill-fated move came as a surprise considering the clear non-aggression directive communicated by the team to both drivers ahead of the race.

“I think the directives were pretty clear in Monaco – unfortunately it’s not what happened on track, but I’m pretty confident moving forward that we won’t face any issues,” he said.

While the dramatic run-in cut Ocon’s race short due to damage, Gasly managed to salvage his first championship point of the season at the end of the day.

“It was pretty positive,” the 28-year-old, describing his performance. “Our first Q3 of the year, [and we] managed to show some good speed throughout the whole qualifying.

“Definitely some good signs, obviously we know Monaco is a kind of particular track, so we know we might not be in a similar position on all the tracks, but definitely some good signs.”

While acknowledging that Alpine still has areas for improvement, Gasly expressed optimism about his chances at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

“We know we’re still a bit on the back foot and we’re trying to rethink a bit how we want to approach this car concept,” he explained.

“At the minute it’s mainly focusing on maximising what we’ve got, and we can see a lot can happen on race days.

"We’ll see, we’ll try again. We know we’re fighting for points right at the back of the top 10, but hopefully we can be in a position to repeat the performance of Monaco.”

Looking towards next season, the 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner has yet to confirm his plans, but all signs point to Gasly remaining on board at Enstone in 2025.

“I think at the minute it’s quite clear the position I’m in, and for my future at the moment I have nothing really to announce. You guys will know in due time,” he said.

“I think the market at the moment is quite open and everybody is aware of what opportunities are out there,” he added.

“At the moment I don’t really have too much detail on that. Everything is going well and I’m in discussions, and that’s about it.”

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