Pierre Gasly has signed a new deal with Alpine to continue his journey with the Enstone-based squad into the 2025 Formula One season and beyond.
Following a torrid start to the season for the whole team as they were the slowest of anyone in Bahrain, there has been some light at the end of a very dark tunnel recently.
Gasly was a small but crucial step behind teammate Esteban Ocon in the early races. However, that has turned around recently as Gasly has outqualified Ocon at the last three rounds. The 28-year-old has also scored points in Monaco, Canada and Spain, moving him up from P19 in the championship after Imola to P15 overall. He’s a single point behind Nico Hülkenberg.
Flavio Briatore visited the Enstone factory on Wednesday, and Pit Debrief understands that confirmation of Gasly’s renewal was delivered to team members.
After leaving AlphaTauri at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Gasly has had an interesting 18 months at Alpine.
He bagged his first podium with the team at the Dutch Grand Prix last year following a fantastic drive in mixed conditions, aided by Sergio Pérez’s penalty. The 1-time Grand Prix winner also finished in the top 3 at the F1 Sprint in Spa.
However, there has been also been controversy with fierce rival and fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon. It blew up in Monaco when the driver of car number 31 disobeyed team instructions to hold position as Alpine looked to secure their first point of the season.
Ocon tried a move into turn 7. As he failed to leave Gasly sufficient space on the exit, there was big contact. While Gasly continued and finished P10, Ocon’s car was too badly damaged.
It was confirmed ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that Ocon would be leaving the team at the end of 2024 following five seasons together.
Who Gasly will be partnered with in 2025 is still to be decided. As Pit Debrief revealed on Sunday, 3-time race winner Carlos Sainz has entered the mix following talks between his father and Flavio Briatore at the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend. t
The likes of Jack Doohan and Mick Schumacher also in the hunt, with both testing the A522 at Paul Ricard next week.
Pierre Gasly: “I feel very much at home at this great team. I enjoy being a real part of both the Formula 1 project and the wider Alpine Cars vision. I’ve been officially here for over 18 months and it has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the Team. While on-track it’s been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere. I am happy with the changes made, the hard work, and the direction the team is taking. There is a lot of potential in this team’s personnel and resources. I’m excited for what is to come in the future and right now I’m focusing on the everyday details that we are putting in to improve our performances.”
Bruno Famin, Team Principal: “The extension of Pierre’s contract with the team is very pleasing. He is a driver with huge experience in Formula 1 and continues to show huge amounts of potential on-track. For Alpine as a brand, he is a great ambassador and we therefore look forward to continuing our collaboration. While this is important for our future, we do have to keep our eyes close to what is coming and that is focusing on improving our current package. We have high ambitions this current season and we will work tirelessly to achieve those things. We will take our time in deciding Pierre’s team-mate and we are excited with the options we have on the table.”
