The season just concluded was particularly challenging for the team based in England and France. Neither of the two French drivers managed to consistently compete at the top of the standings and were, in fact, too often relegated to the back of the pack. Among the two, however, one performed better and managed to optimize results: here’s the recap of Pierre Gasly’s 2024 season.
A car not up to par
The season began in the worst possible way for the French driver: 0 points in the first 7 GPs of 2024. From the start, it was clear to everyone that Alpine would face significant challenges throughout the year, and Pierre Gasly also fell victim to the car’s poor performance. In Monaco, the #10 scored his first point in a race where his teammate caused a DNF after colliding with Gasly himself.
As Ocon began to struggle further, Pierre Gasly improved, scoring points in the next three races: Canada, Spain, and Austria. Despite Pierre Gasly’s newfound consistency, Alpine continued to struggle to break into the points, suggesting an extremely disappointing season for the French team.
The relationship between the two drivers was far from amicable, and their forced coexistence within the team did not benefit either of them. The turning point, however, came just before the summer phase of the season.
Briatore IN – Ocon OUT: Gasly takes the reins of Alpine
If one were to pinpoint the ‘turning point’ of Pierre Gasly’s season, it would likely fall between June 20 and July 20. During this period, two major announcements shook the Alpine garage. The first was the return of Flavio Briatore to F1 as executive director, with the team carrying on the legacy of Renault, the Italian entrepreneur’s former team, twice crowned world champion with Fernando Alonso. The second was the news that Pierre Gasly’s teammate, Esteban Ocon, had signed a contract with Haas starting in 2025.
The message within Alpine was clear: bet everything on Pierre Gasly and let Ocon go, avoiding a forced and potentially dangerous coexistence. The #10 emerged from the summer break reinvigorated and began consistently outperforming his teammate. However, the points zone remained highly contested, and with such an underperforming car, it was not easy to reach every Sunday.
At the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, Pierre Gasly made a definitive leap forward. In the last 5 races of the year, Pierre scored points on 4 occasions and would likely have made it 5 if not for an engine failure in his Alpine that forced him to retire in Las Vegas.
The Frenchman finished the season in tenth place in the drivers’ standings with a total of 42 points, representing two-thirds of Alpine’s overall haul for the year (65). Alpine managed to secure sixth place in the constructors’ championship, thanks in large part to the double podium achieved in Brazil.
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