These two drivers are French. These two drivers are from Normandy. These two drivers were born in the same year, 1996, just a few kilometers apart. These two drivers recently won a Formula 1 race, and now they will be working together at Alpine in 2023!
Esteban Ocon, although he was aware of Pierre Gasly’s progress in the file for a long time, only received official confirmation of his arrival this morning along with the other members of the Alpine team.
« It’s clear that it’s a beautiful story. » explains the Norman (person from Normandy) on Canal+. « We’re tricolor in every way. The car is blue-white-red, we also come from the same region where Alpine cars are manufactured. We’re Norman, so it’s a great story for the region. It’s something to think that we started together on a small track near our homes and we both end up in F1 in the same team, so it’s beautiful. »
The first thing that comes to mind when welcoming a new colleague at work is the hope for a good understanding for the sake of their common goal at Alpine. Indeed, while Gasly and Ocon have known each other for a long time and have participated in regional races since they were children, they are not necessarily best friends. Estéban Ocon does not deny it but explains the reasons.
« It’s true, we took different paths, worked with different teams, in different championships. We lost sight of each other for a while, but I’m glad that Pierre is with us now and that we can embark on this new adventure together.
The two French drivers seem competitive and have demonstrated it in recent years with their wins at Monza for Gasly in 2020 and in Hungary for Ocon in 2021.
On social media, Ocon posted a photo of the two drivers together on a circuit in Normandy when they were still children with the friendly message: “We were just two kids in Normandy with a dream that seemed impossible. Welcome to the team Pierrot.”
We were just two little kids from Normandy with an impossible dream. Welcome to the Alpine family Pierrot, let’s make our team and our country proud 🇫🇷
On était juste deux gosses en Normandie avec un rêve qui semblait impossible.🇫🇷 Bienvenue dans l’équipe Pierrot. @AlpineF1Team pic.twitter.com/3hGFDDNjKY
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) October 8, 2022
