Gasly says hard times shared with Ocon during early years made Brazil result more special

Pierre Gasly says the tough times he and Esteban Ocon endured together when they were karting rivals as children paid off in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The two French drivers have competed against each other since they were young, but an early friendship deteriorated before they reached Formula 1. As teammates at Alpine, there have been a few controversial moments dotting an otherwise mostly civil relationship that reached a high point in Brazil when the pair shared a surprise podium, with Ocon second and Gasly third. “I don’t think anyone can understand,” Gasly said. “It’s a very personal relationship between Esteban and myself. But we’ve been going through so much. All these times we’ve had, like over winter, minus five degrees (Celsius) outside, we were the only ones showing up at the go-kart track, going out in the rain, in the snow, slick tires, 9, 10, 11 years old. “And we’ve really practiced these conditions. On a day like , I can tell you this actually made the difference, all that practice. I remember us getting back in the truck trying to get warm after a few laps because we were absolutely freezing. And it’s just that we’ve had our ups and downs. But this two-year chapter as teammates, I think we can be very proud of the way we’ve pushed the team forward. “It’s been tough, obviously, this season, but we’ve always tried to push the team in the right direction to never give up. And on a day like , even when the car has misbehaved for the majority of the season, everyone tried to put their A game, and it was just an historical day for the team. Very proud for everyone working in the team to achieve such a performance.” Gasly climbed from 13th to third at Interlagos and his podium was under threat from George Russell late on, but he said he felt he had the Mercedes under control. “He was quite big in the mirrors,” he said. “I must say it wasn’t easy, it was difficult conditions. I wasn’t at ease with the car balance, so I was kind of fighting it a bit, but I always had him at bay. I don’t think he ever had the idea of trying anything. I knew as long as I keep him within one second, it’ll be good enough. He damaged his tires a bit. So it was a long end of the race, but we managed to hold him off. “There was Lando (Norris) at the restart and Charles (Leclerc) as well, so we’ve had our fair battles during the entire race – which felt like an eternity, to be fair, with the red flag and in these conditions. But we managed to make the right calls, faultless drive and strategy and excellent day for the team.”