Despite a difficult season, Pierre Gasly remains the cornerstone of Alpine’s Formula 1 project. And the Frenchman has reason to believe that the situation will improve, both for him and for his team.
Pierre Gasly’s 2024 Formula 1 season is far from what he imagined. After a year of adaptation to his new team, the Frenchman would finally hope to shine at the wheel of an Alpine. But he had to deal with a faulty car, which prevented him from achieving his objectives.
While he only scored eight points after 18 Grands Prix, never doing better than 9th place, Pierre Gasly still retained the confidence of his team. Favored over Esteban Ocon, especially after the incident between the two drivers in Monaco, he has since extended his contract with Alpine for several years. And seems able to finally bounce back within the French team.
Assumed n°1 status
The extension of Pierre Gasly is concomitant with the ousting of his teammate Esteban Ocon, who will ride for Haas from 2025. To replace him, Alpine has bet on the young Jack Doohan, from the academy, who will ride for the first time in Formula 1.
This change creates a real hierarchy between the two drivers with Pierre Gasly as sole number 1, where this status was shared with Esteban Ocon. Thus, the Norman should explicitly be favored in race strategies when necessary, which will necessarily put him in better conditions on the track.
In addition, this status should be good for his morale. Freed from his rivalry with Esteban Ocon, he will work from 2025 with a driver with whom he gets along well. “We are good friends”explained for example Jack Doohan in the podcast “The Fast and the Curious” at the beginning of September. Enough to create a better environment for Pierre Gasly, which could have an impact on his performances.
A controlled and improved single-seater?
In addition to the relational aspect, the mechanical aspect could also be better for Pierre Gasly. This season, the Frenchman has had to deal with a car that is far from up to par with the rest of the paddock and is only in 15th place in the drivers’ standings. For 2025, he can only hope that things will be better, as they were so bad for the year 2024.
In addition, and even if the performances have not followed for the moment, Pierre Gasly has now been with Alpine for almost two years. He therefore had time to familiarize himself with the car, to tame it and make it evolve in the direction he wanted. If Alpine has taken the right path in its research for 2025 and the single-seater meets the desires of the French driver, we could then see Pierre Gasly make a real rebound with the French team.
The words “Minnesota Miracle” and “No-Call” are erased from my vocabulary. My heart mourns the retirement of Drew Brees.
