Pierre Gasly Dubbed 'Real Talent' By Eddie Jordan

Saturday, 30 December 2023 at 19:00

Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan labeled Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly a "real talent" after watching him throughout the 2023 season.

The 2023 season has not been the most successful year for Alpine. The French finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship, which is not where the team wanted to be, according to the interim team principal.

The team finished fourth in the Championship in 2022 and perhaps had high hopes for 2023, but internal issues held Alpine back, and the French team was again stuck in midfield. Speaking on the Formula for Success podcast, Jordan said:

"I really don’t know what the makeup was, I thought they were coming to a stage where they were actually going to impart good, continual success, and then they changed the total management."

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The Alpine F1 team went through significant structural changes midseason as a few key team members, including Otmar Szafnauer, Alain Permane, Pat Fry, and Davide Brivio, departed from the team.

Jordan expressed his disappointment about these changes; on the other hand, he pointed out the French team had a few nice moments throughout the most recent season, especially with Pierre Gasly.

"I was very disappointed at that, but that’s what they did and they’ve had flashes of brilliance and I think [Pierre] Gasly is a real talent, I really do. I think he’s a very good driver."

Despite Alpine's lack of performance, Gasly managed to score two podiums for the team - one during the Dutch Grand Prix and one during the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race.

It was the 27-year-old's first season with the Alpine F1 team, and he also beat his teammate Esteban Ocon, who has been with the team three years longer.

While the Frenchman said he wasn't pleased with the 2023 season, he stated he hopes to compete for wins as soon as next year. Do you think Alpine can get Gasly a car capable of doing that?