As the current Formula 1 season draws to a close, Pierre Gasly is getting closer to joining his new team at Alpine. The 26-year-old driver will represent the French team based in Enstone UK and Viry in France next year alongside Esteban Ocon. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly is finishing the F1 season with Alpha Tauri. The Frenchman is close to a driver suspension, and Alpine has not failed to give him a warning.
Next season, Pierre Gasly will no longer be with the Red Bull junior team AlphaTauri. The Frenchman will leave the team to join Alpine Renault and Esteban Ocon as a new team mate. In the meantime, the 26-year-old driver is trying to finish his season in the best possible way by pushing, a tactic that caused yet another incident on track.
During the last Grand Prix, in Mexico, Pierre Gasly had a minor incident with Lance Stroll, the Frenchman was then sanctioned by the FIA with another point against his license, bringing his tally to 10 (each driver can take up to 12 out of 12 months before a possible suspension).
This will not be reduced to 0 until next May as part of a rolling total. As a result, Pierre Gasly could well be suspended on his debut with Alpine if he commits another offence this year. Something his new team is acutely aware of.
Gasly himself is frustrated with the fact he seems to be racking up points for trying to race:
“I’m a racing driver, if I see a gap, I go for a gap,” Gasly said, almost echoing that famous quote by F1 legend Ayrton Senna.
“If you are not happy about it then tell me to give the position back and I’ll try again,
“I wasn’t given any comments, so that’s a shame,
“They just need to say it on the radio, that’s what they’ve done in the past, but for some reason not this time.”
“At the moment, they’re unhappy with what I’m doing so I will have a discussion with them to understand exactly what I have got to change,” said the Frenchman.
“Last weekend half the grid was given too much space behind the safety car and I was penalised. This weekend was quite tight, I don’t know why I wasn’t given a message to give the position back,
“At the end of the day, I try my best inside the car, the last thing I wany is to [pick up] stupid penalty points and lose race time.”
“We don’t want him to have to miss a race with us”
Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer was quick to warn Pierre Gasly to be extra careful to avoid having to miss a race with Alpine.
“I saw what happened today and at this stage I’m not biased, it seemed like a 50-50 split between Pierre and Lance,
“But he will just have to be more careful for a few months. Obviously, we don’t want him to have to miss a race with us on his debut for Alpine F1,” the French team boss explained.
“He will have to be careful”
“He wants to talk to the stewards and the FIA, we know that this system needs adjustments,
“For example losing points for crossing track limits is considered unfair by everyone. But, in the meantime, he will have to be careful”, added Otmar Szafnauer.
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