Pierre Gasly recalled how his ‘personal relationship’ with Esteban Ocon helped prepare the Alpine duo for a fairytale double podium in the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Ocon and Gasly started the Sau Paulo GP at Interlagos in fourth and 13th respectively, but both drivers mastered the wet conditions.
A fortuitously timed red flag allowed both Alpine drivers to change tyres while the GP waited to be restarted.
Suddenly, Ocon and Gasly were first and third.
Ocon eventually succumbed to race winner Max Verstappen, but he was delighted, saying post-race “a lot of flashbacks came back to my memories, when [me and Pierre] were racing on the wet in go-karts, when we were young, even in the snow with the slick tyres, we were both racing together.”
Ocon and Gasly grew up racing together in the French region of Normandy before their rivalry on track interrupted a friendship.
But Gasly and Ocon’s joyous moment for Alpine at Interlagos was a moment of reconciliation and the former also recalled the importance of their youth.
“I don’t think anyone can understand,” Gasly said.
“You know, it’s a very personal relationship between Esteban and myself. But we’ve been going through so much. And as he mentioned, all these times we’ve had, like over winter, minus 5 degrees outside, we were the only ones showing up at the go-kart track, going out in the rain, in the snow, slick tyres, 9, 10, 11 years old.
“We’ve really practiced these conditions. And on a day like today, I can tell you this actually made the difference, all that practice.
“I remember us getting back in the truck trying to get warm after a few laps because we were absolutely freezing.”
Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon ‘very proud’ to be Alpine team-mates
Alpine’s double-podium saw its points tally surge from 16 to 49 for the 2024 campaign.
Second and third at Interlagos has elevated the Anglo-French outfit from ninth to sixth in the F1 Constructors’ standings.
Given the team’s tumultuous history, it’s no shock that the last time the team scored a double podium was all the way back in 2013.
In those days, Alpine was known as Lotus Renault and Kimi Raikkonen stood with Romain Grosjean on the Korean GP podium.
Team Enstone has been on a downward spiral since, but Gasly said that his two years at Alpine with Ocon is something they can be “very proud” of.
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” he said.
“But this two years chapter as team-mates, I think we can be very proud of the way we’ve pushed the team forward.
“It’s been tough, obviously, this season, but we’ve always tried to push the team in the right direction to never give up.
“And on a day like today, even when the car has misbehaved for the majority of the season, everyone tried to put the A game, and it was just an historical day for the team.
“So very proud for everyone working in the team to achieve such a performance.”
READ MORE – Esteban Ocon: F1 Brazil GP podium ‘reward’ for ‘difficult’ years at Alpine
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