Drive to Survive: Decoding what went wrong between F1 stars Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon’s relationship

Episode five of the latest season of Netflix's Drive to Survive series dissects the relationship of the F1 pair that once shared karts during their budding years and are now observing a seemingly strained relationship as teammates in the Alpine F1 team.

It is believed that the fallout between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in the realm of Formula 1 dates back to a national championship race in 2008. It happened on the last lap of their run when Ocon found himself in the barriers as Gasly swooped past him and dominated the race.

Even though Gasly faced disqualification later, his maneuver apparently left an indelible mark on Ocon. From there, their relationship transformed from being "very close" to becoming rivals, fighting for championship victories.

During episode five 'Civil War' of Drive to Survive season six, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly shed light on how their 20-year-old relationship has come to an extent that they will "never be best friends."

The #31 Alpine F1 car driver's reason for parting ways was limited to, "No, not really, there's a lot of personal reasons for these things." However, Gasly opened up more about his relationship with "younger brother" Ocon and how there's no scope for a patch-up. He said during one of his interviews depicted in Drive to Survive (via Cosmopolitan):

"I know Esteban I know him like a younger brother. The only thing with Esteban there are a lot of problems and tensions. We both know we'll never be best friends."

The 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner added:

"I know I've given Esteban many, many chances to make this relationship work. If someone doesn't want to be friends, that's fine."

The duo that witnessed a tumultuous relationship in their motorsports career will start their second consecutive season as teammates in 2024.

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Months before Drive to Survive season six aired, Gasly settled the air around his unsettling relationship with Ocon

Even though the French duo has seen many ups and downs during their competitive career, according to Pierre Gasly, he is "completely fine" with the kind of relationship he currently shares with Esteban Ocon.

The latest instance of their relationship being tested dates back to months before Drive to Survive's season six was available on Netflix. During the 2023 Australian GP, Gasly caused a collision on the race re-start, taking Ocon with him.

Post the incident, the #10 Alpine F1 driver apologized to his teammate, who said he had 'no hard feelings'.

During Beyond The Grid podcast in November 2023, Gasly opened up about his present relationship standing with Ocon, saying (via the official website of Formula 1):

"I’m completely fine with the relationship we have. I think it works well. I need my space, he needs his space, and everyone respects that. I think we both have a lot of respect for the drivers that we are. At the end of the day, I want to win, he wants to win. We’ve got to be hand in hand to make it happen.”

The Alpine teammates were recently seen on the track during the preseason testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, completing a total of 333 laps between them. Ocon took the P16 spot, clocking his best lap time at 1:32.061 whereas Gasly settled at the P17 spot, securing 1:32.159 as his best lap time.