Pierre Gasly, year II at Alpine : “I’m in a much better situation now”

The marriage between Pierre Gasly et Alpine celebrates its cotton wedding anniversary: ​​one year after joining the French team fromAlpha Tauri (now RB), the Norman is preparing for his 2024 season with a completely different state of mind than in 2023. Even if the last exercise of the A arrow did not bring the hoped-for results – Alpine finishing a distant 6th place in the Manufacturers' championship – the 28-year-old driver approaches this new championship with confidence, no longer a stranger to the teams ofenstone and Viry-Châtillon.

“I know pretty much everyone in this room and everyone in the building [at Enstone], he declared on the sidelines of the presentation of theAlpine A524, Wednesday, after a season of learning within the French team. Last year, coming to a new team, it was a much bigger task than you might think from the outside. You need to understand the dynamics of the team, the organizations, the processes, the way of working and communicating. All this exhausts you a little more, takes a little more energy from you. Everything had to be rechecked. »

« I don't need to worry about everything anymore."

Now well established at Alpine, Pierre Gasly wants to assert himself in 2024 as a natural leader and says he “in a much better situation” today than a year ago, when he discovered the stable. “I don’t need to worry about all this anymore. I'm really focusing on myself as an athlete, as a driver, on the physical side of things (…) I really feel in good shape and in a good position for the team. » A few days before the start of the season during pre-season testing in Bahrain (February 21-23), the Norman begins this second campaign with certainties acquired at the end of last season, reassured by the ability toAlpine to progress on the exploitation of the car and on the organization of the team led by Bruno Famin.

“I think we have taken a step forward in the second part of the year [2023], just in terms of the way we work, in understanding the technical aspects. That's why I say I'm in a much better situation now, because last year the team had no idea what I needed in terms of driving style, process, communication, explains Pierre Gasly. I really feel like we've taken a big step forward in that regard. We were in a good position at the end of the year and I think we are in an even better position today, twelve months later. This is why I feel much more confident for this second year with the team. »

Gasly did not “ didn’t have much impact” on the new A524

Echoing the words of his teammate Esteban Ocon, who believes thatAlpine could be behind at the start of the season with its new A524 due to the numerous modifications made, Pierre Gasly confided that he had not had the opportunity to give his opinion on how to better adapt it to their needs.

“It’s a completely new concept, so we haven’t had much impact, did he declare. With Esteban, there is obviously constant feedback on what we want, what we need in the car to go faster. But compared to last year's car, it's a completely different concept this year. They have an idea of ​​how the car we want to handle, but when you start from scratch like that, there are so many unknowns... It will all come down to when we test the car in Bahrain and tell them what we have. need, what are the weaknesses and strengths of this car and what they need to work on. »

Last year, Pierre Gasly finished the season in 11th place in the Drivers' championship, with 62 points and a podium at Zandvoort, without forgetting his third place in the Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps. The Norman, who is reaching the end of his contract at the end of this 2024 campaign, will be keen to make progress Alpine in the hierarchy this season.

ALSO READ > Could Ocon's links with Mercedes open the doors to Brackley for him?