Pierre Gasly has fought hard for his place among the best drivers in the world on the Formula 1 grid. The French star excelled with AlphaTauri either side of a difficult stint at Red Bull before joining Alpine ahead of the 2023 campaign.
Paired with compatriot Esteban Ocon, Gasly finished ahead of his teammate but still missed out on a top-10 berth in the Drivers’ Standings while Alpine finished sixth in the Constructors’ Championship. For Gasly, whose third-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix was his first podium since Azerbaijan 2021, 2023 was a year of learning and understanding the new machinery at his disposal.
“I’m pleased. It was obviously going to be a challenge starting with a new team in a new organisation with a new engineer – there were a lot of things to adapt myself to, including the car, which is very different than what I used before,” Gasly told Daily Express Sport. “We had much bigger ambitions and targets at the start of the year which were compromised because the car didn’t perform as well as we would have liked.
“It took a bit of time to find my feet properly, but month after month, I could feel the direction we were heading and I finished the year strongly. I’m very happy with the foundations we built for next year, and I know we’re just going to start from a much stronger point. We just need a more competitive car.”
Back in April, Gasly found himself in fifth place when racing resumed following a second red flag at the Australian Grand Prix. But rather than compete with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton as he chased a second win of his career, Gasly’s day turned from one of potential celebration to abject disappointment; a collision with Ocon condemned both Alpine cars to a premature retirement.
Plenty could be written about the relationship between Gasly and Ocon. Alpine implemented strategies that favored Ocon throughout the season, including the Japanese Grand Prix that left Gasly frustrated. When asked about his teammate, Gasly smiled and said: “We are very different. It’s no surprise we’re not best friends; it’s a very professional relationship, and I think we manage it extremely well. He wants to win and I want to be the best in Formula 1, so we have a common target which pushes us to work together.
“We are quite different personality wise and driving wise, but I like that we request similar characteristics from the car so we’re pushing the team in the same direction, which is crucial.”
Gasly is refreshingly honest, happily dissecting Alpine, Ocon and the 2023 season on video call while waiting for his flight to Paris from Abu Dhabi. He is an expressive person, and one that is a far cry from the man who timidly struggled at Red Bull.
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While more experienced, the 27-year-old remains as effusive as ever. At the season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Gasly sifted through over 700 potential helmet designs submitted by fans for a Binance competition before he chose the winner: a striking mesh of black and gold with Arabic inscription featuring his trademark pink stripe.
The contest was won by an Argentine motorsport fan, which pleased Gasly; he suggested wearing the design made the designer feel ‘like he had one foot on the grid’. It was a meaningful moment for the Frenchman, as the helmet is a very important part of the expression of his personality when racing.
“Gear is from the team, so the helmet is the single item where we can personally express oursleves at races,” he added. “I like to mix it up at specific races; from the weekend, the design included a pink line on the side, which I’ve had since go-karting days, so I really liked the guy kept the DNA of my early career. With black and gold, I didn’t expect pink to fit on there – it’s very, very strange but I really like the touch of colour with the Arabic scriptures, which made it unique to Abu Dhabi.
“I always try to connect, engage and give back as much as I can to my fan base. As a kid, I was a motorsport fan so I understand what would have made me happy at the time.”
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