Otmar Szafnauer hopes Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will ‘rekindle’ their friendship
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Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon (IMAGO / HochZwei)
Ever since rumours of Pierre Gasly moving to Alpine emerged, there has been one big talking point: He and Esteban Ocon are not known to be the best of friends, and sparks may fly, on and off-track if they are on the same team. Teammates fighting is not productive for either team and considering the relationship between the two, it seemed likely to happen.
No one knows for sure what happened between them. The two and their families used to be close, but they eventually drifted apart until they were no longer friends. Gasly said it was because he started beating Ocon at karting, on the other hand, Ralf Schumacher had apparently claimed that it was because Gasly ‘stole’ Ocon’s girlfriend. But of course, the Frenchmen are also professionals.
While Ocon had publicly stated he would prefer Mick Schumacher as his teammate, he did not seem ‘particularly’ averse to having Gasly as one. The lineup also has another bonus: It’s an all-French roster for a French team. Otmar Szafnauer also stated that the two have ‘no issues working together’.
Szafnauer: ‘Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon happy to work with each other’
Talking to Motorsport.com, Alpine’s team principal Otmar Szafnauer said that Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon are willing to work with each other professionally: “We made an informed decision. And that means talking to the entire team, including Esteban beforehand, to make sure that if we did make a decision, it’s a team sport and we have to be able to work together and optimise.”
Szafnauer hopes that the pair will become friends again: “Esteban was very supportive, Pierre as well. They’re professionals. And they have no issue we’re working together. And hopefully the friendship will rekindle – they were friends at one point. But from a professional perspective, they’re both very happy to work with each other.”
The American feels that the two are rather similar in a number of factors: “They’ve known each other for a very long time, and they’ve raced together. They’re about equally experienced, they’re both very fast, both ambitious, so that I think they’ll work well together.”
Of course, even if their relationship may not ‘rekindle’ as their team principal hopes it does, they should most likely still be able to work together. Gasly was also likely their best option given the circumstances: Relatively young but experienced, French, and most importantly, fast.
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Aniket Tripathi
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