"You race for yourself"- Former F1 driver on why Pierre Gasly should leave Red Bull for Alpine

Former F1 driver Jean-Eric Vergne reckons Alpine would be a great option for Pierre Gasly, as the French driver might not get a shot make the Red Bull team.

Talking about the possibility of Gasly moving out of the Red Bull umbrella, Vergne said that the Torro Rosso driver's move to Alpine would make complete sense. He said:

"I know him quite well. He has been very strong in the AlphaTauri. Nothing but impressive! I always told him there is no room at Red Bull for him. He has to move away at some point."

He added:

"He has to start using his own wings to fly, and I think Alpine could be the right thing for him. Then I'm not sure he's best friends with Esteban Ocon, but at the end of the day, it does not really matter. You're a professional driver."

Vergne also touched on the rather frosty relationship Gasly and Esteban Ocon have off-track and how that's unlikely to impact Alpine's team dynamics. He said:

"You're paid by the team; you represent the brand, and at the end of the day you're racing for yourself. I'm pretty sure the team could handle two French drivers even if they apparently don't like each other, but water under the bridge, lot of things happen, you race for our team, but you also race for yourself, and I'm sure they understand that, and I'm sure they make the best out of it."

Earlier on Thursday, a short video clip leaked where Gasly was caught saying:

"Only the finer details of the contract are left".

That was picked up by the media, leading to reports that the French driver's move to Alpine was all but done. Gasly, though, rubbished the same, saying:

“If you guys would have any idea of the subject we were talking about, you’d probably laugh. I can guarantee you, it was nothing related to Formula 1. I said it last week, for next year currently, I’m contracted for AlphaTauri. Everyone is aware of my contract situation. For now, nothing has changed.”

---

Pierre Gasly to continue points streak at Zandvoort?

Pierre Gasly drove a brilliant race at Spa, finishing inside the points despite starting from the pits.

The French driver hopes to continue his points-scoring streak with AlphaTauri at the next stop in the Dutch GP at Zandvoort as well. He said about the challenges at Zandvoort:

"I like the track; it's difficult to drive, and it has plenty of challenges. It's a bit old-school with the banking, and it's a place where you cannot make mistakes - not quite like Monaco but in the same style. There are no tarmac run off areas, and if you get it wrong, you are straight in the gravel or a wall, while the corners are unusual."

He added:

"The cars are very different this year, but I hope that with everything we learned about the race there last season, we can have another good result, to score more points and head for the end of the triple-header in Monza on a positive note."

Pierre Gasly as Fernando Alonso's replacement, could be a great choice for Alpine. It remains to be seen if that happens and how things pan out.