F2 driver by Antoine Hubert a death at the Belgian Spa circuit shocked the motorsport world more than four years ago. On the tragic weekend in question, a photo of four little boys racing karts in a convertible started to spread on social media.
Four French-speaking friends. Hubert, Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
Gasly and Ocon, who were born in 1996, were good friends as children. The two got to know each other when they were six years old at karting classes.
Ocon himself has said that Gasly, who first played football, got the spark for motor sports from him. According to Ocon, his father had asked Gasly if he would like to test drive his son’s microcar.
Gasly later recalled how much fun they had together in the Beyond The Grid podcast, among other things.
However, the two’s friendship ended where it began. In karting.
This season, the former friends have had to put up with each other as F1 teammates.
Competition winners
The route of the 27-year-old drivers to the current point has been very similar, although of course there are differences.
In 2014 in the then F3 itself Max Verstappen’s defeated and won the championship, Ocon made his debut in F1 in 2016 at only 19 years old. Driving the slowest car of the season, Manor, Ocon flashed his talent at Interlagos in Brazil, where he struggled for points with an uncompetitive car.
For the next two seasons, he experienced good consistent performances with Force India by Sergio Perez as a team mate. When Lawrence Stroll bought a stable and got one for his son For Lance a place to drive, Ocon was without a race driver’s place for a year.
Ocon, who was a Mercedes reserve driver, joined Renault after a gap year in the 2020 season, when he achieved his first podium finish.
For the next two seasons, Ocon continued his strong performances in the team that became Alpine, a two-time World Cup winner Fernando Alonso alongside. In the 2021 Hungarian GP, he drove his first and so far only F1 race victory.
Gasly arrived in formula one as a winner as well, having won the 2016 GP2 series championship. The graduate of Red Bull’s junior academy drove for a good year in the Toro Rosso team before he got a quick call to Red Bull.
However, Gasly could not perform well enough alongside Max Verstappen and he was fired in the middle of the season and demoted back to Toro Rosso.
However, in the team that has since become AlphaTauri, Gasly got his career curve on a new flight by winning the 2020 Monza GP and by doing otherwise excellent results compared to the team’s equipment.
– They both belong to the group of really talented drivers. Gasly has had trouble controlling his nerves, just like Ocon. But they have matured better all the time, Urheilu’s F1 expert Jukka Mildh says.
Teammates
The two became team mates for this season, when Gasly was replaced by Alonso, who left for Aston Martin at the end of last season.
The news of Ocon and Gasly teaming up in the team caused a lot of interest and also surprise due to their shared history. How can drivers who were once separated be able to work as each other’s team mates?
The break between the two has been seen to have started from a fierce mutual competition situation on the track. Ocon has not wanted to talk about it, so only Gasly’s position has been heard.
– I started beating him and he didn’t like it, Gasly is said to have said.
The situation escalated the following season when they crashed with each other.
For example, in F1, we have seen how the differences between some team mates could end in a break. Urheilu’s expert Mildh sees that with Ocon and Gasly, it is also a lot about who is the hero of France.
– The competition only gets tougher, because the teammate is the worst competitor. Unfortunately, very often it happens that private matters can get really bad. It can be even a small thing that escalates. If there’s a mutual scuffle and the other doesn’t apologize, says Mildh.
Ocon reminded before the season that the team’s interest is the most important.
– We are both professionals and we want to work the way we want. But I don’t think we’ll ever be best friends, Ocon expressed before the season.
Crashes
Ocon and Gasly have formed a very solid and balanced driver pair this season, which means that Alpine is solidly sixth in the team points. Both have reached the top three once this season. Ocon first in Monaco and Gasly in Holland.
Before the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, the difference between the two is four points in favor of Gasly.
Gasly knew that team mateship with Ocon would not be easy. However, he reminds us that both have grown a lot as people.
– At first I was a little worried about how he would receive me in the team and how he would work with me. We are different types of people, but basically I think our cooperation will go well. We are aware of our responsibility.
However, collisions have not been avoided. In the restart of the Australian race, the two collided. The same also in Hungary.
In the penultimate race of the season in Vegas, the two had a furious race for the position. Ocon took longer.
Mildh reminds that nothing should drive ahead of the stable. However, he has enough credit for the already quite experienced duo.
– Everything depends on what kind of spirit is brought to the team and how the team is managed. When the team is well managed and things go according to plan, it is easier to manage the situation between the drivers. If both drivers always have faith in their position and do their best, the team has a chance to succeed.
The final race of the F1 season starts today in Abu Dhabi at 15:00.