Pierre Gasly set to compete against Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray as team owner

Alpine F1 driver Pierre Gasly has confirmed that he will battle fellow team owners in the likes of Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal in a star-studded Hexagon Cup event.

During the build-up to last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, it emerged that Alpine’s F1 driver Pierre Gasly has recently joined padel as the owner of the eighth franchise competing at the Hexagon Cup.

Padel, a racket sport that involves a combination of tennis and squash, is played on an enclosed court about the third of the size of a tennis court.

The freshly-created competition feature football superstar Lionel Messi and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, actress Eva Longoria and former Manchester City star Sergio Aguero as a team owner.

Gasly has joined forces with financier and fellow Frenchman Loic Fery, the president of football club Lorient, to establish 10Padel which will be the eighth and final squad in next year’s Hexagon Cup.

Asked about his new adventure, Gasly noted said: “Yeah, very exciting news. Just became a padel team owner this morning, entering the eighth team in the Hexagon Cup.

“So it’s a new competition that started last year in Madrid. There are big names in there, Leo Messi, you know, Andy Murray, Rafa Nadal, they’ve all got their own team and many others. And it’s going to be exciting to have my own team competing against these guys. So it’s going to be end of January next year. So for whoever is available on that weekend, they’re more than welcome to come and watch the event.

Pushed on to reveal whether he intends to play himself, the French driver denied any intentions to join the competition.

“I’m not going to play myself. These guys are professional and it’s quite a fun format where you’ve got professional players with also like amateurs and youngsters. So you get eight players in total and it’s quite a fun tournament. But yeah, I’ll try to be there to support my team,” noted Gasly.