One of the most recent Formula 1 drivers to confirm his future beyond the end of the 2024 season is Pierre Gasly.
The Frenchman announced ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix that he would be staying at Alpine on the same day that Lance Stroll confirmed he would continue his association with Aston Martin.
While it’s not a complete surprise to see Pierre Gasly stay with the French outfit, he may have been considering his options as their car hasn’t been particularly impressive this year.
Alpine currently sit 8 in the Constructors’ Championship although the 28-year-old is on a good run right now.
Gasly secured a 10-place finish in Austria after an intense battle with teammate Esteban Ocon and has now scored points in each of his last four Grand Prix.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Gasly was talking about his decision to extend his contract with Alpine and compared the team to his previous employer Red Bull.
In terms of performance, Christian Horner’s team are head and shoulders above their French rivals.
However, Gasly has shared one thing that Alpine do ‘extremely well’ that he never really experienced when he was with Red Bull.
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Pierre Gasly shares what Alpine do ‘extremely well’ compared to Red Bull
Talking about his time with Red Bull, Gasly said: “I went through Toro Rosso, Red Bull, back, and then to Alpine. But not always with a strong dynamic.
“And from what I am seeing from the team and from my relationship with the team, with Luca de Meo, with Bruno [Famin], it is going extremely well, and we have clear ambitions.
“I really like Luca’s ambition and where he wants to bring the team over the next few years, and I trust in his management. I am very excited to be a part of the project.”
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Alpine need more than just team dynamics to succeed in Formula 1
This season couldn’t started any worse for Alpine who had a slow, overweight car heading to the opening round in Bahrain.
It took the team six rounds to score a point when Ocon barely squeezed into the top ten in Miami and Gasly only got off the mark in Monaco, no thanks to his teammate who collided with him on the first lap.
However, since then they’ve made steady steps forward and alongside Haas and RB have well and truly closed the gap to Aston Martin.
The trouble for Alpine is that their long-term future looks far from assured.
Flavio Briatore has returned and set about trying to sign Carlos Sainz and potentially explore dropping their own Renault engines to become a customer team instead.
However, neither of those options are set in stone yet and there’s a chance Gasly could be joined by a much less experienced driver in 2025.
While Gasly believes that the team are all pulling in the same direction – something Red Bull can’t say – they do look some way off being a top team.
That’s very unlikely to change whether they begin using a different power unit in 2026 or continue progress with their own, although there are already suggestions that the work going on in Viry-Chatillon isn’t quite going to plan.
The post ‘Very excited’: Pierre Gasly shares what Alpine are doing ‘extremely well’ that he never saw at Red Bull appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
