When Alpine decided to pair Pierre Gasly with Esteban Ocon, it was immediately met with questions about how the two former friends who grew up karting together would get along as teammates.
While 2023 as well as the start of the 2024 campaign was a struggle for the team and not without some tense moments — such as an opening lap collision between the two at the start of this season’s Monaco Grand Prix — Sunday’s Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix gave the pair a proverbial moment in the sun.
Even if there was no sun to be found in the sky above a rain-soaked Interlagos.
Ocon finished second, with Gasly behind him in third, to give the team a double-podium finish. It was the first for the Enstone-based operation since the 2013 campaign, when they were competing under the Lotus branding.
After the podium celebration, Ocon reflected on that “beautiful story” in the FIA Press Conference, while discussing how he is leaving for Haas next season.
“But, yeah, extremely happy and proud, you know, of me and Pierre, to be honest. We’ve had our stories at times, but it’s been incredible to do that last formation lap. A lot of flashbacks came back to my memories, when we were racing on the wet in go-karts, when we were young, even in the snow with the slick tires, we were both racing together and waiting for the podium or the win to come,” said Ocon. “And today, yeah, it tastes a bit like that. So, yeah, beautiful story from where we come from. And, yeah, that one will for sure forever stay engraved.”
His teammate echoed those thoughts.
“I don’t think anyone can understand. You know, it’s a very personal relationship between Esteban and myself. But we’ve been going through so much. And as he mentioned, all these times we’ve had, like over winter, minus-five degrees outside, we were the only ones showing up at the go-kart track, going out in the rain, in the snow, slick tires, 9, 10, 11 years old,” said Gasly. “And we’ve really practiced these conditions. And on a day like today, I can tell you this actually made the difference, all that practice. I remember us getting back in the truck trying to get warm after a few laps because we were absolutely freezing. And it’s just that we’ve had our ups and downs.
“But as you said, this two years chapter as team-mates, I think we can be very proud of the way we’ve pushed the team forward. It’s been tough, obviously, this season, but we’ve always tried to push the team in the right direction to never give up,” Gasly added. “And on a day like today, even when the car has misbehaved for the majority of the season, everyone tried to put the A game, and it was just an historical day for the team. So very proud for everyone working in the team to achieve such a performance.”
The win vaulted Alpine up the standings, rocketing them from ninth to sixth in the Constructors’ Championship. While three race weekends remain, and Alpine will face a tough fight with Haas and Visa Cash App RB F1 Team in that fight, they now have the advantage in that battle as the season winds down. Given how they have fared in recent weeks, one could almost make the case that Alpine could have an advantage in that fight.
Regardless of how that turns out, however, their drivers wrote a “beautiful story” in the rain Sunday at Interlagos.
