Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon will drive alongside each other for Alpine F1 team in the 2023 F1 season – what is the reason behind their alleged feud?
Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon don’t get well with each other and that’s not really a secret. With just a few days left for the season to start, fans wonder if the personal relationship between the two drivers will affect the overall performance of Team Alpine this season.
There have been various rumours about their relationship, but one cannot confirm all of it for sure. However, fans did witness the hilarious incident when Gasly and Ocon cropped each other out of the same picture before posting it on their individual social media handles and that marked the beginning of the feud between the two French drivers.
Gasly and Ocon both grew up in Normandy and being the same age, their lives and motorsport careers have been closely intertwined all the way through the junior categories. They were very close friends until their teenage years, before on-track incidents began to cast a cloud over their off-track rapport.
The relationship degraded to such a point that it began showing even on social media. One such incident happened after both drivers attended the Cannes film festival and were in the same photo frame. However, when they posted the picture on Instagram, they both had each other’s figures cut out!
Alpine signed Gasly from AlphaTauri at the end of last season and since then, there have always been concerns about how fruitful the Gasly-Ocon partnership will eventually turn out to be. Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer believes that both drivers will work hand in hand for the benefit of the team. He insists that they’re both professionals and this is why he expects them to maintain a civil relationship and perform collectively to help the team maximize their goals.
As per reports, things have got better between the two over time and they are looking forward to teaming up with each other. Gasly has maintained that they have always been on speaking terms throughout their time in Formula 1 – just not on anything to do with racing. It remains to be seen how things turn out in the Alpine paddock this season!
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