Gasly offers Bearman advice against ‘benchmark’ Ocon

Pierre Gasly has offered Oliver Bearman advice as the Briton prepares for his first full-time season in F1.

Bearman has signed up to join Haas next year and will partner Esteban Ocon, who is set to depart Alpine after a five-season stint with the French manufacturer.

Gasly and Ocon have been paired at Alpine over the last two seasons, but are enduring a difficult campaign with the team competing at the lower end of the pecking order. 

Ocon will lead the Haas squad as he partners a rookie in Bearman, who has been advised by Gasly to be prepared for a significantly busier work schedule.

“I think as a driver it’s very clear what you’ve got to do in Formula 1 – it’s all about speed,” Gasly told media including RacingNews365. 

“Obviously Ollie is going to come as a rookie in Formula 1 so there’s no experience in the challenge of F1. It comes with different challenges which you may not face earlier in your career.”

Addressing those challenges, in particular, Gasly added: “All of a sudden you’ve got 24 races. It’s a long season, it’s more physical, a lot more demanding from a team point of view.

“You’re working with a thousand people all of a sudden, you’re able to have a real impact on the car development, car pieces, working the simulator, the media exposure.”

With Ocon entering his ninth full F1 season next year, Gasly asserted it will be beneficial to have an experienced team-mate to lean on.

“He’s still got to be as fast as fast as possible in the car,” Gasly added. 

“He’s got to find his feet in this environment. [He] already has some good experience but it’s going to be a good benchmark for Ollie to have Esteban [Ocon] next to him.”