Pierre Gasly was signed by Alpine to replace Fernand Alonso ahead off this season and has said he has “developed in all areas” since the disappointment of his Red Bull move in 2019.
The Frenchman, who has spent much of his career at Toro Rosso and Alpha Tauri as it was re- named, was signed by Red Bull ahead of the 2019 season.
However, the 26-year-old struggled to get to grips with the RB15 and was completely outclassed by Max Verstappen, before being demoted back to the sister team during the summer break.
Gasly managed to score a podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix later that year and took the teams second ever win at the Italian Grand Prix in 2020, before racking up another podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2021 along with some fantastic Qualifying performances.
Gasly ready for Alpine
Despite a more difficult season in 2022, Gasly told Autosport in an interview at the end of last year that he believes his disappointing time at Red Bull will help him in his move to to the French team:
“It feels like it was an eternity ago that I was with Red Bull, and since then, so much has happened, professionally and personally.
“I really feel like I’ve developed in all areas. I remember when I came in Red Bull, the feeling, my approach and mindset that I have going into Alpine is completely different.
“I have a lot of clear ideas. I think it’s more like clarity in my mind on what’s needed to perform, and what’s needed to be competitive.
“I mainly use that experience that I’ve gathered with Alpha Tauri, in good and bad times, and gathered the experience that I learned in Red Bull to make the best out of this opportunity with Alpine.
“I’m a lot more confident that this is going to be very successful, I have no doubt about it.
“2019, even if you think it’s only three years ago, I think personally I’ve evolved a lot.”
Important to adapt quickly with lack of running
Gasly will partner fellow countrymen Esteban Ocon who has been with the squad since 2020 and was competitive up against two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, making it crucial for him to hit the ground running with the team.
He got his first appearance in Alpine machinery at the postseason test in Abu Dhabi last November and will only have a couple of days in a shortened Bahrain pre-season to adjust to the car.
However, Gasly feels he can “adapt quickly” despite the minimal amount of running: “For sure, it’s not going to give a lot of time before the season starts, but I’ll do all the prep that is needed and at the end of the day, I know I can adapt quickly.
“I’ve done it in the past. I just need to be aware that things might be very different. It might not be. It might feel quite natural straight away. It might not feel natural straight away.
“But it’s very important to come with an open mind.”
Alpine will reveal their car on February 16th at a launch event in London.