French F1 stars Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were in attendance at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris
French F1 driver Esteban Ocon was given the special task of delivering the 2022 Ballon d’Or trophy to the venue. The 2022 ceremony took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the top prizes were won by Karim Benzema in the men’s category and Alexia Putellas in the women’s category. The Ballon d’Or is awarded by the French Football Federation since 1956 to honour the best in football, based on their performances over the past year.
Frenchman Esteban Ocon who drives for French F1 team Alpine, added a special French flavour to the Ballon d’Or along with another F1 French star, Pierre Gasly. Gasly and Ocon will be team-mates from 2023 at the Alpine F1 team. Ocon was given the all-important task of delivering the coveted trophy safely to the venue and he did so with utmost care. Fans watched on as Ocon made a noisy entrance in his Alpine-branded Formula 1 car and gave a wave to the crowd as the trophy was unstrapped from his car, allowing Ocon to then carry it down the red carpet and pose for some photos.
Future Alpine team-mates Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon attended the ceremony together
It was kind of an Alpine get-together from the future at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Besides Ocon and Gasly, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi was also present at the ceremony. With both drivers Ocon and Gasly, having been born in Normandy, this French connection is a marketing dream for Alpine and they already seem to make the most out of it.
Gasly will leave the Red Bull fold entirely next season and join Alpine to partner Esteban Ocon. In his F1 career so far, Gasly has always been a part of the Red Bull set up and he currently drives for their sister team Alpha Tauri. There are rumours that Gasly and Ocon’s relationship hasn’t been quite smooth in the past but both drivers have brushed aside such rumours and were visibly enjoying each other’s company last night in Paris. While Gasly will replace Fernando Alonso at Alpine, his vacant seat at Alpha Tauri will be filled by Dutch racer Nyck de Vries.
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