Pierre Gasly reacts to the turmoil at Alpine: « We must remain united »

Pierre Gasly called on his Alpine F1 team to stay united after another high-profile departure.

Read also: Luca de Meo announces his resignation from Groupe Renault

A surprise departure and constant instability

During the Canadian Grand Prix, the Renault Group – owner of the Alpine F1 team – announced the departure of its president, Luca de Meo.

Luca De Meo, CEO of the Renault group since 2020, has overseen the team’s transformation into Alpine. He notably played a key role in the signing of Fernando Alonso, and under his leadership, the Enstone-based team returned to victory thanks to Esteban Ocon.

But Alpine failed to close the gap with the top four teams, even falling back into the midfield pack.

The position of team director has proven particularly unstable, with Cyril Abiteboul, Marcin Budkowski, Otmar Szafnauer, Bruno Famin, and Ollie Oakes succeeding one another over the past five years.

Faced with this rough patch, Alpine even surprised by announcing the return of Flavio Briatore as an executive advisor.

Pierre Gasly wants answers

Reacting after the race in Canada, Pierre Gasly spoke about Luca De Meo’s departure: « First of all, I think I need all the information. I have a very good relationship with Luca; he was the one who brought me into the team, and I find him to be a very inspiring person. So obviously, my first reaction is that I am very sad to see him go. »

“I’m sure he has good reasons. And even if everything is not perfect for us at the moment, there are still many positive things happening at the factory. For me, it is important to maintain this momentum looking ahead to 2026, because the landscape and performance can be very different. We must remain aware of this,” he explains.

Pierre Gasly acknowledged that he wanted to discuss with management to better understand the consequences of this departure on the team. Winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, he also stressed the need to stay united.

« Yes, I need to sit down with management to better understand what this means for the team, etc.

« But at the end of the day, everyone has their role, everyone must focus on what they have to do, and do it as best as possible. Of course, I will talk with everyone. »

It’s totally normal, totally human to feel that way. And I think it’s important that we stay united, as a team, in moments like this. That we rely on each other and maintain confidence in the long term, he concludes.