Gasly: I felt the move to Alpine was needed

After contesting 94 grands prix with the Faenza-based Formula 1 outfit under its previous Toro Rosso moniker and its current one, AlphaTauri, Pierre Gasly is finally leaving for new pastures, French ones to be precise, over at Alpine.

After driving 12 races for Red Bull in 2019, where he failed to meet the expectations of the team, after which he was demoted to Toto Rosso at the time, the Frenchman has finally realized he has no chance of a top seat within the Red Bull organization, hence his decision to move.

Gasly told Racer of his move to Alpine: "I felt it was needed because I’ve been with the team at AlphaTauri for quite a few years.

"I’ve contributed as much as I could to the success of this team over the last couple of years, really giving everything that I could. But ultimately I also want to be fighting at the front.

"I see the guys that I’ve fought in my career fighting at the front of the grid – Max getting championships, Charles fighting for championships, George being there, Lando (Norris) also getting his chances – and I do see myself there.

"That’s where I want to fight and where I want to be fighting weekend after weekend," he added. "I think Alpine will be a great step and based on their development I know they have what it takes to match my expectations and my ambitions."

Despite the lure of a new opportunity, Gasly admitted to having mixed feelings for leaving AlphaTauri; he said: "Honestly, you get both feelings and emotions.

"I’m really excited for the future, I see it as a big opportunity working with a manufacturer in Alpine and looking at the steps they are making over the last few years, definitely confident there are big things to achieve with this team and I’m very excited about it.

"On the other hand, this place is like a family," he revealed. "I’ve always felt at home in AlphaTauri, very close to the team in Faenza.

"It’s a smaller team, every single mechanic, every single engineer become friends, so I sort of grew up with them in my F1 career so far," he pointed out.

"So obviously emotional to leave but it’s also how a career goes and based on the ambitions and what I want to achieve in F1 I know it’s also the right time to make a move and take another direction.

"But these last races, it hasn’t hit me yet, but Abu Dhabi is going to be emotionally very special," the winner of the 2020 Italian Grand Prix concluded.