Pierre Gasly 'pleased with' Alpine welcome: I've been very impressed with their way of approaching this first day

Pierre Gasly says he was impressed with Alpine after his first test with the team following the conclusion of the 2022 F1 season. The Frenchman is set to join the Enstone-based squad, where he will partner up with fellow compatriot Esteban Ocon.

Pierre Gasly will join the French team on a multi-year deal starting in 2023 and will officially leave the Red Bull family - where he has been for the entirety of his F1 career. The former AlphaTauri driver tested with Alpine at the 2022 Pirelli tire test, just two days after the conclusion of the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP.

Gasly spoke to the media about his first experience with Alpine, saying:

"I've been in a single environment for the past five years. So far, from what I've seen, there's massive experience in this team, from top engineers inside the engineering office but also inside the garage. The way they're working [is impressive]. I haven't seen everything yet – I still need to go to Enstone and see all the tools and facilities they have – but I've been very impressed with their way of approaching this first day."

AlphaTauri are to replace Gasly with Formula E champion Nyck de Vries, who stunned the F1 world with an impressive debut at the 2022 F1 Italian GP in September.

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Pierre Gasly is not concerned about his past feud with Esteban Ocon

Pierre Gasly is not concerned at all by his past feud with his future Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon. The two Frenchmen are to pair up at the Enstone-based team for the 2023 F1 season.

Gasly and Ocon have shared a strained relationship right from their karting days, where they fiercely competed against each other. Both being French, the two drivers have squared off throughout their junior careers. Alpine's decision to go with the former for the 2023 F1 season has led to widespread doubt within the F1 community regarding his previous feud with the latter.

The former AlphaTauri driver, however, claims that he is not concerned at all by his rivalry with Ocon, claiming that the two have grown a lot since their junior careers.

In an exclusive with RacingNews365, Pierre Gasly said:

"[Esteban] is the guy I know in the paddock for the longest. We met at six years old, 20 years ago and have a long past history. It's no secret to anyone that we have had our ups and downs, but I think today we're much more grown up than we were."

Gasly is, however, concerned about the state of F1's current penalty points system, claiming he won't be the only one to face a race ban under the current system. It remains to be seen how the Frenchman will fare against Ocon at the Enstone-based team in 2023.