Pierre Gasly believes it would be wise for Alpine to have a pre-race discussion about the rules of engagement with teammate Esteban Ocon before the race in Spain.
Gasly’s suggestion comes in the wake of a penalty for Sergio Perez in Canada, which means Ocon and Gasly will line up next to each other just weeks after a collision in Monaco threatened team harmony. Despite both drivers emphasizing that the incident is behind them, Gasly mentioned they’d meet before the race to discuss their conduct.
After their Monaco clash, tensions escalated in Canada when Ocon didn’t yield to Gasly, preventing him from attacking Daniel Ricciardo ahead. Given recent events and the return of Flavio Briatore to the team, Gasly considers a pre-race chat essential. ‘I think we should based on the recent events,’ Gasly told media, including PlanetF1.com. ‘As a team, it would be normal, but as a professional, I know what I’ve got to do and I’ve always kept it very clean—and I always keep it very clean.’
Ocon, however, appeared less concerned about the need for a discussion, pointing out that they’ve started alongside each other many times without incident. ‘How many times have we started together? It happens once every 30 times,’ Ocon said. ‘I don’t expect anything.’
Saturday’s qualifying in Spain was a pleasant surprise for Alpine, marking their first double Q3 appearance of the season. Gasly acknowledged the unexpected performance, saying, ‘I told them [TV media] it’s nicer when we get to explain why we overperform rather than underperform but it’s just as important for us to find these answers because coming here, we definitely didn’t expect Q3,’ he explained. ‘Since yesterday, there was some performance and even today it was a very clean session.’
‘Looking at the gaps we’re only a tenth and a half from Lewis [Hamilton] and even Carlos [Sainz] and Ferrari who managed to win a race not too long ago. So I must say it’s very strange but we’ll take it. It was a good quali and I think it will be a good boost of motivation for the team.’
With the recent team dynamics and on-track incidents, a pre-race discussion between Gasly and Ocon seems prudent to ensure a smooth race for both drivers and the Alpine team.
