Pierre Gasly doubts he’ll fix his relationship with one F1 rival for at least ’10 years’

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Alpine star Pierre Gasly has issued an update on his relationship with the biggest rival of his career during a recent appearance on Formula 1’s Off The Grid series.

Since joining the sport in a full-time capacity in the middle of the 2017 season, Pierre Gasly has cemented himself as a staple of the F1 grid.

The Frenchman famously secured his maiden win in the 2020 season, benefiting from a 10-second penalty for Lewis Hamilton to bring home a fairytale home Grand Prix victory at Monza.

Having spent the entirety of his career within the Red Bull stable, Gasly grew impatient with his lack of another shot in the frontrunning constructor and found a new home at Alpine, alongside his long-time nemesis, Esteban Ocon.

• READ MORE: Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon share the moment their ‘close’ friendship ended on Drive to Survive

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Pierre Gasly shares an update on his relationship with long-time rival Esteban Ocon

During an appearance on an episode of Off The Grid by F1, Gasly was asked about his relationship with Ocon.

Their history is no secret. Once good friends during their respective karting days, things went south as they got older, and the relationship between Gasly and Ocon is now filled with tension.

Gasly was speaking about his friends on the grid when the topic switched to his compatriot. The Alpine star said, “Well, Esteban is… yeah, we could make a full documentary about it.

“We used to spend Wednesdays and weekends on track together pretty much every week. Him going to my place, me going to his place. We had a very strong bond.

“Sadly, there was very much like a turning point in one of the races; it sort of just fell apart after that, like in a very dramatic way. A way in which I don’t think we would have even imagined, which is a bit difficult to explain.”

He later continued, “We know exactly where we come from. We know what we had to go through to actually make it. We also both know that it was actually probably a good thing for us that we had a rivalry that pushed us beyond our potential.

“I have no doubt that maybe in 10 years, 20 years, we’ll be able to talk things through in a very different way. I was fighting him on track last week and probably going to be fighting him again on track next week.

“And there are things that won’t be said until all of that is over. So at the end of the day, it’s a very special relationship.”

• READ MORE: Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon share ‘beautiful’ childhood story after Sao Paulo Grand Prix podiums

A timeline of Pierre Gasly’s incidents with Esteban Ocon during their time together as Formula 1 teammates

When Alpine announced that they would be pairing Ocon with new signing Gasly for the 2023 season, questions were raised over the team dynamic due to the fractured relationship that they share with each other.

Alpine staff believed Gasly was trying to repair his standing with Ocon, but it wasn’t long before they butted heads on track.

In fact, it took just three races for the first incident to happen. During a late-race restart in Australia, Gasly drifted toward the racing line after going wide, not knowing that Ocon was beside him. Both Alpines hit the wall, destroying a potential double-points finish for the team.

After another coming together in Hungary that was neither driver’s fault, the following incident proved to be the most pivotal.

During the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, Ocon ignored team orders and attempted an ambitious overtake on Gasly at Portier.

As many overtaking manoeuvres at that corner go, it ended terribly. The contact launched Ocon’s car into the air and ended his race.

The crash on the streets of Monte Carlo was the final straw for Alpine’s leadership. Team principal Bruno Famin promised severe consequences, and shortly after, Ocon’s departure was announced.