After finishing best of the rest (4th) in 2022, Alpine had high hopes when they launched A523 in London. However, the 2023 season was full of challenges for the Enstone-based team, finishing 6th in the championship. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon recently spoke about their disappointments as Sky Sports F1 caught up with them in Madrid alongside football legend and Alpine ambassador Zinedine Zidane.

The struggles were clear from the very start, as Alpine lagged 73 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen in the Bahrain season opener. To make matters worse, the team faced double DNFs in Australia, Britain, and Hungary. Collisions, hydraulic issues, and on-track incidents between teammates and other drivers cost the team a bunch of points.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon remain hopeful despite the setback in 2023

While the on-track struggles were evident, the real challenge lay within the team’s management. Former CEO Laurent Rossi‘s public dissatisfaction with the team’s performance triggered a chain reaction of managerial changes. Rossi’s departure, coupled with the removal of Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane, signaled a huge shift within Alpine.

The only shining moments for Alpine in 2023 were the podiums secured by Ocon in Monaco and Gasly in the Netherlands. These moments, however, couldn’t mask the disappointment of the season overall. It won’t be unfair to say that Alpine finds itself stuck in the mid-field, struggling to break free from a pattern that has persisted since 2017.

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“Well, first of all, I hope one day we get close to the number of trophies Zinedine has collected in his career,” Gasly told Sky Sports F1. “So yeah, we’re obviously working very hard towards it. I think this year, we’ve said it many times and I don’t want to go over it again for too long. But it’s been a disappointing year as a team. And I do believe we got big potential to unlock, and I do believe we’re going to do it. How fast? Hopefully sooner than later but yeah, we definitely working on it.”

Ocon echoed these sentiments, expressing his commitment to Alpine’s future endeavors. “I’m obviously working you know flat out with Pierre and all together with the two factories. I was there already yesterday working with the next year’s car. Already having one trophy, I’m not speaking about how many you know, Zinedine got but already having one trophy would be amazing. But you know we are very far from that realistically. So yeah, we are going to tackle that and uh do the best we can,” he affirmed.

$218,000,000 Gamble Starts to Pay Dividends as Pierre Gasly & Esteban Ocon Steady Alpine’s Topsy Turvy Ship

The relationship between Gasly and Ocon is another thing to consider. As Alpine gears up for 2024, will the tension between the two Frenchmen get in the way of the team’s success? Only time will tell.

What’s the history between Gasly and Ocon?

Hailing from the same region of Normandy, the two drivers initially formed a bond during karting competitions. However, a pivotal moment in 2009 during the Bridgestone Cup marked the beginning of a rift between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. The incident occurred on the final corner of the final lap of the race. Aiming for a podium finish, Gasly challenged Ocon for third place, sowing seeds of discord.

Gasly ultimately secured third place at the chequered flag but the tension between the two escalated during the World Cup in 2010 in Portugal. Ocon cut the track, took a shortcut through the grass, and collided with Gasly in the last heat before the pre-final.

The Gasly-Ocon feud came to the forefront when Esteban Ocon publicly expressed a preference for Mick Schumacher as his ideal teammate after Fernando Alonso‘s departure. This preference added fuel to the fire, reminiscent of Ocon’s tough past relationships with teammates, including Sergio Perez during their time in Force India.

Can the French drivers put aside their differences for the greater good of the team? Or will their history get the better of them? Share your thoughts with us down below in the comments.

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