New Alpine signing Pierre Gasly believes his new team have the potential to achieve "fantastic results" in 2023 and beyond. The Frenchman is moving to Alpine after five and a half seasons in F1 that have been spent driving solely for Red Bull-affiliated teams. Gasly's first run in an Alpine came at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, and the Frenchman has since talked up his prospects with the Enstone-based outfit, who moved up one place in the Constructors' Championship in 2022 to finish fourth. "I'm very confident from what I've seen that there's potential to achieve fantastic results," Gasly told media, including RacingNews365.com . "I really believe this team is a fresh start for me, and also an opportunity to make something amazing together. "They have had the best season so far since they came back. I think they are on a trajectory, improving season after season. "From what I've seen today, from what they have shown all season, I'm definitely confident that what we can achieve together can be very impressive. "On my side, I'm ready for it. I'll do obviously all the work needed over the winter, because you can’t underestimate the work to switch teams and start working with a completely new team, a new environment, a new car, and new guys, so obviously you need to really have the right approach to make it work as fast as possible."
Gasly rues AlphaTauri's 2022 slump
Gasly also lamented AlphaTauri's fall in competitiveness in 2022 which saw the Frenchman collect only 23 points, down from 110 in 2021. AlphaTauri also slipped from sixth to ninth in the Constructors' Championship, and Gasly rued the relative obscurity inherent in the lower reaches of the grid. "I had a much [more] pleasant year in 2021 than 2022, just purely the fact that I haven't had the competitiveness and the speed to really show much," said Gasly. "Obviously, people look at what happens at the front. I think some will say, past second place, they don't even pay attention anymore. "Maybe past eighth, you don't really see what happens at the back."
A new chapter in 2023
Gasly began his F1 career with the then-Toro Rosso team midway through 2017, and was promoted to Red Bull for 2019 to replace the Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo. But after a difficult half-season in which he struggled to match teammate Max Verstappen, Gasly was demoted back to Toro Rosso during the summer break, with Alex Albon going the opposite way to replace him. Gasly had largely impressed since returning to the team now known as AlphaTauri, even taking a surprising but deserved maiden Grand Prix victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix. But with Albon himself struggling at Red Bull and being dropped at the end of 2020, Gasly was overlooked for a return, with the drinks-backed outfit electing instead to replace Albon with free agent Sergio Perez. With Perez and Verstappen both contracted at Red Bull until at least 2024, there appeared to be little prospect of Gasly returning to the team, and it was announced in October that the Frenchman would move to Alpine for 2023, ending an association with Red Bull that dated back to 2014.
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