The main topic of Saturday’s FIA press conference in Suzuka was staffing decisions, which became known early in the morning: Alpine F1 confirmed the contract with Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri – with Nick de Vries.
“As you know, in the summer we had a vacancy (before 2023) and we started looking for a driver who would best meet several criteria,” said Otmar Szafnauer, head of the works team at French car manufacturer Renault. – We wanted such a rider to have three qualities: this is of course speed, but also experience and youth.
Not many candidates meet all three requirements, but Pierre is definitely one of them. We thought he would be perfect for us, put Gasly on our shortlist and tried to get him.”
The paddock has long known that Gasly and Esteban Okon, who were once close friends, now have far from the best personal relationship, but this moment does not bother Safnauer at all.
“I think some friction between partners is even good,” he said in an interview with Sky Sports. “They have to work hand in hand, they have promised it and they will do it. Perhaps their former friendship will gradually be revived.
At a press conference he developed the same idea: “They have known each other for a long time, they played together (in the youth series). I think Pierre and Esteban are about similar in experience, both very fast and ambitious drivers. All in all I think they work well.
When we made our decision, we thought it through carefully. This means we have spoken to the whole team, including Esteban, because Formula 1 is a team sport and we all need to establish effective cooperation. And Esteban supported our decision, Pierre is also willing to cooperate. They are professionals and see no problems in this.
Yes, they were once friends, but professionally they are both quite willing to work together.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
