Formulation 1 driver Pierre Gasly mentioned it ‘didn’t really feel proper’ to attend the Le Mans 24 Hours in informal clothes as he revealed his ambition to compete within the sportscar epic.
Gasly and Alpine F1 team-mate Esteban Ocon have been in attendance finally week’s 92nd operating of the French endurance traditional, the place the Renault-owned squad made its Hypercar return with the brand new A424 LMDh prototype.
Frenchman Gasly had spent a big a part of his teen years dwelling in Le Mans whereas he was part of the French federation’s younger driver programme, and even accomplished his education in the identical metropolis.
Returning to La Sarthe because it performed host to the fourth spherical of the 2024 World Endurance Championship on June 15-16, the 28-year-old mentioned there was one thing off about watching the race from the sidelines.
Chatting with Eurosport on the beginning grid, the one-time grand prix winner expressed a want to pay money for a aggressive automobile and struggle for outright victory at Le Mans within the coming years.
“I believe it’s each child’s dream,” he mentioned. “I watched this race since I used to be that tall [pointing to the ground].
“I really lived 5 years in Le Mans, I studied right here, and I’ve received a really shut proximity with this metropolis and this monitor.
Photograph by: Alpine
“For certain, it will likely be a dream to win Le Mans at some point. We are going to see. For now, I am totally centered on Formulation 1 and it is probably not within the pipeline.
“However undoubtedly seeing these guys out at this time however simply carrying regular sneakers and denims simply would not really feel proper, so hopefully at some point I will be in a great automobile to take part in Le Mans.”
Gasly is the newest F1 driver to have publicly talked about his dream of racing within the blue riband spherical of WEC.
World champion Max Verstappen lately revealed that he had been contacted by plenty of groups concerning an entry into Le Mans, whereas Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was additionally eager on participating within the race with the Italian marque’s 499P LMH after watching the Prancing Horse rating victory in final yr’s centenary occasion.
Any Le Mans outing for an F1 driver within the close to future, nonetheless, has been dominated out by a calendar conflict, with subsequent yr’s 93rd version falling on the identical weekend because the Canadian Grand Prix.
Gasly mentioned he has a “lot of respect” for drivers who compete at Le Mans, with a gruelling schedule and changeable climate combining to make it one of many hardest races on the motorsport calendar.
“I discover it fascinating,” he mentioned. “I talked about it. I’ve received many associates racing right here really which makes it even cooler as a result of I am on the grid and I am seeing a number of guys I raced in opposition to.
“I used to be saying like, ‘4am, with one hour of sleep, it is going to be completely pissing down and it is going to be very excessive’.
“I believe we now have received to understand [them]. As a racing driver, I actually recognize how onerous it’s and hopefully, folks on TV can realise as properly as a result of it is powerful.
“To focus for an hour and a half, it is a huge problem, however to focus for the complete 24 hours and sharing the automobile…..
“These guys are the perfect to clarify it, however [I have] a number of respect for these guys.”
Alpine had proven promising tempo in the beginning of the 2024 WEC season with its pair of A424s run by the manufacturing facility Signatech crew, however its Le Mans look was minimize quick after each automobiles suffered engine failures within the first six hours.