We analyzed the data and look ahead to the team duels of the 2024 Formula 1 season: This is how the Alpine drivers Gasly, Ocon and Doohan performed against each other
With precise time differences and detailed analysis of their individual strengths and weaknesses, we can paint a clear picture: Who was really the better driver this season? And we continue with the Alpine team.
Is Jack Doohan too slow for Formula 1?
Gasly vs.
Qualifying duel: 1-0
Qualifying pace: -1.12 seconds
Race duel: 1-0
Race pace: -0.69 seconds per lap
Points: 6-0
Before we compare the Alpine regular drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, let’s first look at Jack Doohan, who made his debut in the last race of the 2024 Formula One season. But did he do well? If you look at the data, you might wonder.
Sure, it was Doohan’s first ever Formula 1 weekend, but in terms of race pace, the Australian was a whopping seven-tenths per lap slower than team-mate Gasly. If you compare the best times of the two in qualifying, there is a deficit of 1.12 seconds. Doohan was already out in Q1, while Gasly was fifth on the grid.
Considering that Doohan tested extensively with Alpine during the 2024 season, including over 1,000 kilometers of testing at the Abu Dhabi circuit, one might have expected a little more. After all, other rookies have recently shown that it is possible to be significantly closer to your team-mate in your first Formula 1 race.
Oliver Bearman was on average 0.6 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc in terms of race pace during his Formula 1 debut with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, and in his first race for Haas in Baku, he was only 0.11 seconds per lap behind Nico Hülkenberg.
Franco Colapinto was only two-tenths of a second slower per lap than Williams teammate Alexander Albon in his debut at Monza, while Liam Lawson was only one and a half tenths of a second behind Yuki Tsuonda in his first Formula 1 race at Zandvoort in 2023. These rookies were all significantly less prepared than Jack Doohan before their debut.
Duel Gasly vs. Ocon raises question marks
Gasly vs. Ocon
Qualifying duel: 11-12
Qualifying pace: -0.30 seconds
Race duel: 10-13
Race pace: -0.13 seconds per lap
Points: 36-23
But now to the duel between regular Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, which Gasly clearly won in terms of points. On average, he was 0.3 seconds faster than Ocon in qualifying, while his average advantage of 0.13 seconds per lap was slightly lower in terms of race pace.
It is curious that Ocon was able to win both the qualifying duel (12:11) and the race duel (13:10) in absolute numbers. In the first phase of the season, when Alpine sometimes had the slowest car in the Formula 1 field, Ocon was able to handle the weaknesses of the A524 better, but as the car got better, Gasly was suddenly the faster driver.
