What Pierre Gasly said about Esteban Ocon relationship that some Alpine staff really approved of

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The two-season experiment of pairing Frenchmen Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will come to an end when the 2024 season concludes in Abu Dhabi in December.

Drive to Survive focused on Gasly and Ocon’s relationship after they become unlikely teammates in 2023.

Pierre Gasly, in an ideal world, wasn’t expected to join Alpine last year.

Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin caught Alpine off guard but they thought they had the perfect replacement within their ranks.

Oscar Piastri was taking a year out after winning Formula 2 and was expected to earn a promotion to the race team, however, McLaren hijacked that move and the rest is history.

It meant Gasly was reunited with his old rival Esteban Ocon and it wasn’t long before they clashed on track.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

A crash in Australia last year cost both drivers a significant haul of points and tensions flared throughout the season.

Ocon and Gasly clashed in Monaco this year and just a few days later, Ocon’s upcoming departure from the team was confirmed.

Speaking on The Race’s YouTube channel, journalist Edd Straw was speaking about Gasly’s recent comments about his teammate.

Alpine have committed to Gasly for the future ahead of Ocon but have still yet to decide on his teammate for next season.

Gasly has already sent a message to Alpine about Ocon and there’s a feeling among some people within the team that his comments about trying to improve their relationship are very much accurate.

READ MORE: Alpine driver Pierre Gasly’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Some Alpine staff think Pierre Gasly is trying to improve Esteban Ocon relationship

Talking about Gasly’s recent comments, Straw said: “At times, he [Ocon] has rubbed people up the wrong way within the team, that was something Gasly capitalised on.

“Gasly showed his confidence in the firm foundation that he’s created when he spoke publicly about the efforts he’s gone to in keeping the relationship with Ocon on an even keel in an interview with F1’s Beyond The Grid Podcast.

“It’s important to note that it was only his side of the story but referred to the need to, ‘manage Esteban and manage the way we interact, taking my distance.’

“The implication was clear, that he was the one motivated to make the team work and that therefore he was the key player in the Gasly-Ocon alliance working.

“Regardless of the truth of that, it was certainly seen that way by some but not all internally.”

READ MORE: Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Pierre Gasly still waiting to learn who will replace Esteban Ocon at Alpine

Alpine decided in May that Ocon would leave the team, ending a five-year partnership with the one-time race winner.

However, a few months later and Alpine are one of four teams who are yet to confirm their full driver pairing for 2025.

Alpine could hire Zhou Guanyu who still hasn’t signed a new deal with Sauber and would help them afford the Mercedes power unit they want.

Reserve driver Jack Doohan is also an option for Alpine and has been rigorously testing their old cars behind the scenes alongside taking part in two FP1 sessions.

Given the state of the driver’s market, Alpine will be in no rush to make a final decision.

Audi are the only team who will provide them with any competition for the drivers they’re considering and despite looking like they’re going to abandon the Renault engine product, they’re still in a stronger position than Sauber this season.