Alpine’s Pierre Gasly addressed the announcement regarding the departure of Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo, who is stepping down and removing himself from the company.
De Meo restarted the Renault racing project, bringing the French racing outfit back on the grid and shaping the current-day direction of the company as a whole.
The Italian is leaving at a turbulent time for Alpine, which is stopping its power unit development, opting instead to be a Mercedes customer team.
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People around the team are raising concerns about the direction of the F1 team going forward – Gasly being chief among them.
“First of all, I think I need to have all the information. I have a very good relationship with Luca, he was the one that took me into the team, and I think he’s a very inspiring person,” Gasly said after the Canadian Grand Prix.
“So obviously, first reaction is that I’m very sad to see him leave.
“I’m sure he’s got some good reasons. And I think at the end, for us as a team – even though not everything is great at the moment – there’s still a lot of positives happening at the factory.”
Gasly joined Alpine in 2023, finally departing the Red Bull Racing program and opting for a fresh start at a French team.
He is now the clear-cut leader of the team in terms of results and experience. Gasly is one of the best drivers on the grid.
The Frenchman finishes higher than expected, provides solid technical feedback, all while avoiding mistakes and acting as the face of the team.
Now that his team is in turmoil, Gasly is once again rallying the team, asking for their trust amid all the uncertainty.
“For me, it’s important that we keep that momentum going into ’26, because the picture and the performance could be very different. And we need to keep that in mind,” he said.
“And I think it’s important for all of us to stick as a team and stick together in these types of moments.
“And, you know, rely on each other and just trust the long game.”