At Suzuka
To discover
Formula 1: the calendar for the 2022 season
Formula 1: manufacturers' classification
Formula 1: drivers classification
In the paddock of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, won on Sunday by Max Verstappen, chance had wanted that the pavilions of the Alpine and AlphaTauri teams were neighbors and suddenly the human-sized posters of their respective riders Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly .
The two Frenchmen, visually side by side, will be physically next season at Alpine, as the latter made official on Saturday.
The story of the reunion of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon is almost too good to be true: kids born in Normandy, a few kilometers from the legendary Alpine factory in Dieppe, both ran as children on the same go-kart track.
On Saturday, Esteban Ocon posted a touching photo of the two boys on his Instagram account, captioned as follows: “
We were just two kids from Normandy with a dream that seemed impossible.
And now we will represent the colors of France in F1 with @alpinef1team.
Welcome to the Pierrot team
”.
Side by side then face to face?
Asked by
Le Figaro,
the CEO of Alpine, Laurent Rossi, puts this beautiful image in the background, in favor of sporting considerations: “
the number one criterion in our decision was the performance of the driver and therefore that of our team.
We have chosen in Pierre Gasly an experienced driver, with proven results – he has won a Grand Prix, he has made three podiums, he has more than a hundred Grand Prix in his legs and he has garnered almost 400 points.
He will immediately be at a very high level and extract his full potential.
He is also someone young enough to continue to improve and to improve the team with him.
In this sense, he is very similar to Esteban.
These are two pilots who will bring a lot of hope.
These are two beautiful ambitions
“, he advances.
Some fear that this “side-to-side” degenerates into “face-to-face”;
younger, the two future teammates were sometimes in conflict – a relationship that Pierre Gasly modestly describes “
with ups and downs
” in an interview with the
formula1.com
site .
“
It's a really minor subject and above all, it's not a topic for today.
The rivalry at the moment is not very strong, because it is for fourth or third place, not for the leader.
Anyway, the rivalry is natural
, ”we sweep at Alpine.
More generally, Laurent Rossi welcomes the progress made in Formula 1 in two years since the return of Alpine.
“
We managed to stay fifth in Formula 1 in 2021 when we were on a bad slope;
this year, we are fighting for fourth place whereas it was totally out of reach last year, and we are in the process of closing the gap to the Top 3. The results are encouraging
”, rejoices- he.
Sunday's fourth place at Suzuka for Esteban Ocon confirms the progress of the French team.
And it's not Pierre Gasly's 17th place on his Alpha Tauri that will spoil the atmosphere.