F1 News: Esteban Ocon's honest thoughts on Gasly partnership revealed
Alpine's team principal - Otmar Szafnauer - has provided insight into his conversations with Esteban Ocon about working alongside Pierre Gasly next season.
Pierre Gasly was never the favourite to replace Fernando Alonso at Alpine, with Oscar Piastri's promotion into the main team appearing as the most obvious course of action.
Alpine even announced Piastri's 'promotion' into the main team, only for the 21-year-old to deny that any contract has been agreed to.
What followed was a somewhat embarrassing saga for Alpine, who tried and failed to secure Oscar Piastri's services for the 2023 season.
With the Australian's contract with McLaren eventually upheld by the CRB, Alpine was forced to search for alternatives.
The French squad managed to free Gasly from his existing AlphaTauri contract and secure his talents on a multi-year deal.
There has been plenty of speculation about whether Ocon and Gasly can work well together, considering their less-than-friendly history in previous seasons.
However, Otmar Szafnauer told racingnews365 about his conversations with Esteban Ocon about working with Pierre Gasly:
"I've talked to both of them, and they both say the same thing.
"I've talked to Esteban more than Pierre, as I know [him] more, and I asked him: 'Do you think there is an opportunity to rekindle your friendship?'
"He said: 'Yeah, never say never, let's see what happens', so he is definitely open to it."
It is not unreasonable to expect Ocon and Gasly to maintain a professional working relationship, considering they are paid multi-millions to perform at the highest level.
Alpine would not have signed Gasly if they weren't confident that both drivers could perform well within the team.
Having said that, Alpine must ensure that they manage both drivers effectively if they are to optimise their results.
The French team has the resources and financial backing to climb the field, so they cannot allow any inter-team squabbles to impact their trajectory.
There are already question marks about whether Ocon and Gasly are capable of competing directly against F1's elite drivers, so Alpine must ensure the strengths of their driver lineup erase any doubts.