The future looks exciting for Alpine, as the team’s new driver pairing of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly has the perfect blend of experience and potential.
Both drivers have won a race already in their careers, meaning that have got that hunger for success in F1, having tasted glory once before.
The pair have had their issues in the past, with Ocon and Gasly sharing a frosty relationship with each other during their days racing in the junior categories.
While on paper the chance to have two French drivers racing for a French team seems like the perfect scenario, former F1 driver Romain Grosjean has explained that it could all turn sour for Alpine.
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“It can go bad, I’m not going to lie to you,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“Alpine is going to have to keep an eye on the relationship between the two of them. If it starts to be an ego fight to be the best French driver on the grid in the only French team, things can go bad.”
Both drivers have been quick to address the rumours that their relationship could turn toxic, with Gasly suggesting that 60 percent of the drivers on the grid have slight tensions with their teammate.
Alpine will be hoping that Ocon can form a much more harmonious bond with his new teammate than he did with Fernando Alonso, who fell out with the Frenchman spectacularly towards the latter end of last season.
Grosjean has however revealed he is rooting for Alpine to succeed with Ocon and Gasly, suggesting that should the pair get on and work well together, the team’s future could be filled with success.
“They are two guys who were not best friends when they were young, but they have matured a lot,” he explained.
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“They both have a Formula 1 win and if they fit well together and work well together, it can be a very nice and fun success story for a brand like Alpine.
“That’s one of my wishes.”
The signing of Gasly was lauded as an excellent move for both the driver and team when it was announced last year, with both parties looking to become regulars on the podium in this new era of Formula 1.