Alpine retains Gasly on new multi-year F1 deal

Pierre Gasly has signed a contract extension to remain with the Alpine Formula 1 team on a multi-year basis.

The Frenchman’s signing for another season ensures that Alpine retains continuity into 2025, as it announced previously that it was parting ways with Esteban Ocon at the end of the current season.

Gasly is currently in his second season with the French squad, and finished 11th in the drivers’ championship in 2023 – four points ahead of Ocon as the two were closely matched.

Alpine has endured a difficult start to 2024 after entering the year with a car that was said to be around 10kg overweight, although steady improvements and efforts to reduce weight have led to an uptick in the team’s performances.

This has led to a pair of double-points finishes in the last two races – Gasly has finished ninth in both, with Ocon 10th at Montreal and Spain. Gasly currently leads his fellow Normandy-born stable-mate by five points to three in the standings.

“I feel very much at home at this great team. I enjoy being a real part of both the Formula 1 project and the wider Alpine Cars vision,” Gasly said.

“I’ve been officially here for over 18 months and it has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team. While on track it’s been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere. 

“I am happy with the changes made, the hard work, and the direction the team is taking. There is a lot of potential in this team’s personnel and resources. 

“I’m excited for what is to come in the future and right now I’m focusing on the everyday details that we are putting in to improve our performances.”

Although Gasly was always likely to stay at Alpine, he had courted interest from other teams on the grid with a vacant seat – Sauber was believed to be a potential destination as it prepares for its metamorphosis into Audi for 2026.

However, the departure of Ocon had perhaps convinced Gasly to stay as the duo’s relationship remained fractious through a number of on-track clashes between the pair.

This came to a head at Monaco, when Ocon attempted to barge past his team-mate at Portier and made contact – sustaining damage to put himself out and put Gasly at risk. This earned the ire of team principal Bruno Famin, and Ocon’s impending departure from the team was announced in the wake of their clash ahead of the…