The Formula 1 driver market is referred to as a circus for a reason. Shock moves have become a yearly occurrence and this year has been no different.
Alpine driver Fernando Alonso was the first domino to fall when he shocked the paddock by announcing his move to Aston Martin, leaving a vacant space at the French outfit which no one had anticipated.
Oscar Piastri was the clear favourite to replace the outgoing Alonso but in true F1 fashion, the young Australian, who was part of Alpine’s driver academy, had actually signed a contract with McLaren, unbeknown to the public, around the time of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
With it know confirmed that Pierre Gasly will take the vacant seat, ending his nine year alliance with the Red Bull system, the Frenchman has revealed that those at Red Bull did not stand in the way of his dream move.
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“They understood straight away the opportunity it was for me and also my desire to start something new and my will to fight at the front of the grid and they kind of understood that quite quickly,” Gasly told Formula1.com.
“Especially Helmut [Marko] and Christian [Horner] as well – I had long conversations with Helmut.
“But at the end of the day they all understood what an opportunity it was for me and they worked around it to make it up and I’m very thankful for that,” he continued.
But it was not a clean break-up with his current boss Franz Tost with Gasly describing him as ‘close to tears’ when he broke the news to him.
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“It was something that has been discussed with all parties and it was tougher for some than for some others.
“I was close to seeing tears in Franz’s eyes once he got the news because we obviously had a very strong relationship and we’ve been working extremely well together,” the Frenchman revealed.
While Gasly will not be in the Red Bull he would have always dreamed of next season, the 26-year old will be hoping to be closer to the front of the pack next season with Alpine.