Pierre Gasly feels his apparently bad relationship with Esteban Ocon is “talked about way too much”

Pierre Gasly has once again come forth to state that him not being 'best friends' with Esteban Ocon won't affect their working relationship at Alpine - and that the topic is discussed "way too much".

Pierre Gasly feels his apparently bad relationship with Esteban Ocon is “talked about way too much”

Pierre Gasly (L) and Esteban Ocon (R) [Image Credit: Alpine]

When Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine seemed imminent, the main concern and talking point for many people was his relationship with Esteban Ocon. The two used to be friends (and their families were close as well) but had a falling out ‘when the going got tough’ in their karting days. Many predicted that the relationship could go further south – and ‘fireworks’ could be in the cards.

But for their own part, the drivers have not expressed any real concerns about working together. It’s clearly been quite a few years since their ‘falling out’ – they’re more mature now. Ocon even expressed his excitement at the fact that both of them achieved their dream to drive in Formula 1 and now will share a roster, adding that he couldn’t wait to get started. On the other hand, Gasly earlier blamed the media for pushing the narrative of them having a bad relationship.

YouTube video

The Frenchman has once again stressed that the topic of their ‘bad’ relationship and rivalry is overblown, and talked about too much. Speaking to Autosport, Gasly said: “To me, it’s a topic which is way too much talked about. We get on well. OK, we are not best friends, but we get on. We did some events, we speak to each other, and when I look down the paddock, the relationship between other teammates, I think there are definitely [some] worse than us.”

Moreover, he thinks that if there is so much made of the relationship between him and Ocon, then the same should be made of the relationship between some of the other teammates in F1. The 26-year-old said: “If you want to discuss about me and Esteban, you can probably talk about the relationship between 60% of the guys down the paddock. So no, we’re fine.”

Read More: “I know they like to sell this story,” Pierre Gasly blames the media for spreading fear about his rivalry with Alpine Teammate Esteban Ocon

Pierre Gasly ‘sure’ that he and Esteban Ocon will work well together

Pierre Gasly (L) and Esteban Ocon (R) [Image Credit: Alpine]
Pierre Gasly (L) and Esteban Ocon (R) [Image Credit: Alpine]

While some have predicted that the working relationship between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon could go awry, Gasly himself doesn’t think this will be the case. Of course, there’ll still be a teammate rivalry – everyone’s here to win in F1, and that starts with beating your teammate. That’s the same goal for everyone, at a minimum, to beat your teammate, especially when you think you have a similar skill level. And when there are no external pressures or team arrangements.

While he acknowledges that there will be a rivalry, Gasly thinks it will be a ‘healthy’ one and drive them to do better. Which will also help the team. The Frenchman said: “I’m sure we’re going to work well together in Alpine. There’s going to be a rivalry, like you will find in any other team. I just think it’s going to be a healthy one, and at the end of the day, that’s why we both arrived in Formula 1.” adding that he is not worried about this.

Any team’s success is dependent on how the various components (including the drivers) work together – it will be no different for Alpine. If there even are any tensions between them, Gasly and Ocon will have to put it aside for the betterment of their team. Healthy competition is fine, but too much infighting can tear a team apart.

In case you missed it: