Gasly and Ocon reunited: 'It looks like they're friends again'

It was not the development of the 2023 car that was the hot topic of conversation at Alpine for a long time, but rather the (murky?) relationship of new driver couple Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. They were once close friends, but there was little sign of that in recent years. Yet Alpine dared to put both Frenchmen together in one team.

In recent weeks, Ocon and Gasly did not miss an opportunity to report that they do get along just fine. For instance, both were present in Paris at the NBA match between the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. Everything seemed okay between the two, at least so the posts on Instagram suggested.

During press conference after the A523 presentation, which GPblog also attended, team boss Otmar Szafnauer was asked whether there was any mutual resentment between Ocon and Gasly? "I hear exactly what you hear, but they're working collaboratively," the team boss said. "They went recently to Finland or wherever they were together, and they flew on the same airplane out there together where they didn't have to sew. It looks like they're they're friends again."

For Szafnauer, it is completely irrelevant whether his drivers walk the floor together. "And forget the friendship. Most importantly is they have to work as a team, because it's a team effort, and they have to share their experiences on track and the data to lift us all. And I think that will happen," the American team boss said.