French F1 driver Pierre Gasly signs multi-year contract extension with Alpine team
ENSTONE, England (AP) — Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly has signed a multiyear contract extension with the Alpine team.
Alpine said in a statement Thursday the deal “will take Pierre into the 2025 season and beyond." No further details were given.
The 28-year-old Frenchman is in his second season with Alpine. After a tough start to this campaign, he has scored points in the past three races heading into this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
He finished 11th in the drivers' standings last season, with a best finish of third place at the Netherlands GP.
“It has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team," Gasly said. "While on track it’s been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere. I am happy with the changes made, the hard work, and the direction the team is taking.”
Gasly's teammate Esteban Ocon is leaving Alpine at the end of the season. The French-owned team said it will announce “in due” course who will replace him.
Ocon and Gasly have made no secret of the fact they don't have a great relationship. The pair collided approaching the tunnel section at the Monaco GP last month, with Ocon taking responsibility for the incident and receiving a five-place grid penalty for the following race.
In March, two executives in charge of designing Alpine's new F1 car quit after a disappointing performance at the season-opening Bahrain GP.
Alpine is reportedly interesting in signing Carlos Sainz to replace Ocon after the Spaniard lost his seat with Ferrari with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes to join the Italian team next year.
Gasly has entered 140 races and has four podium finishes, including victory at the Italian GP in 2020, when he held off then-McLaren driver Sainz in the closing laps.
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