Pierre Gasly is set to embark on perhaps the most exciting campaign of his Formula 1 career, as the Frenchman prepares to race in a completely French set-up.
Gasly is, of course, racing for Alpine in 2023 alongside former friend turned rival Esteban Ocon, forming an all-French partnership.
The 26-year-old’s departure from AlphaTauri and the Red Bull family was announced prior to FP3 at the Japanese Grand Prix, with the Frenchman set to compete in F1 for the first time without the energy drink-company’s support.
It marks a huge step into the unknown for Gasly, who has effectively grown up in the Red Bull set-up.

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Understandably, he made sure that everything was heading in the right direction before making his decision about a move to Alpine, which included having conversations with Renault.
Gasly has since revealed that he wanted an understanding of everything to do with Renault and Alpine, and ultimately what the duo’s plans are going forward.
“I was also informed of the plans and projects for the next few years by Luca de Meo,” Gasly told Auto Motor und Sport.
“I wanted to know how much Renault is behind this project.
“They will do everything to get to the top and being in an official team of a manufacturer gives a driver the guarantee of having the best possible material at the team’s disposal.”
After spending the last three years being AlphaTauri’s leader, Gasly will need to fight Ocon for this title at Alpine, with Ocon having done remarkably well against double World Champion Fernando Alonso.
Ocon against Gasly is a fascinating prospect, given that they’ll both be aware of how imperative it is for their future at the team to beat one another.
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Gasly in recent years has been an incredibly consistent performer, whilst Ocon tends to have occasional standout performances, sandwiched by poor results.
Should the duo avoid colliding then Alpine could be on for an excellent year, one which might end with both drivers having a cake made in their honour!
For Gasly, though, that’s sort of happened already, after a fan of the Frenchman shared on Reddit that their birthday cake included a photo of Gasly, dubbed the “tastiest man alive”.