Pierre Gasly described Oscar Piastri's decision to reject a seat at his own team Alpine in favour of a McLaren move as "quite bold".
The young Aussie will move to his current employers' midfield rivals to race for them in 2023. That has been decided after a legal battle as both teams fought for the right to field the F2 champion next season.
And now that Alpine need a new driver after losing that battle, Gasly is believed to be at the front of the queue. Reacting to the situation at Zandvoort, the Frenchman admitted he "had an eye" on what was happening over the summer break.
He was especially surprised by Piastri's uncompromising public statement, when he declared he would not be driving for Alpine just a few hours after the team announced he would race for them next year.
"I thought it was quite a bold move from Oscar to refuse an F1 seat, when you know how difficult it can be to get there and being affiliated with Alpine," Gasly told reporters. "I was just quite surprised with his move."
He went on to stress he feels it is important to be grateful for opportunities and to show loyalty to those who hand them out. "At the end of the day, that’s also how it works, I think I'm in a good position to talk about that," he added.
"I've been with for nine years Red Bull. There were a lot of highs. The only low was the 2019 with them. But nevertheless, you're always grateful, whatever happens, for the opportunities.
"I would never be in Formula 1 if they would not help me and put me in the junior programme at the end of 2013. These things, you should remember who helped you first, and always be kind of appreciative and grateful for these things."
According to reports, Gasly is set to take advantage of Piastri's switch as Alpine have "agreed terms" with AlphaTauri to buy out the final year of his Red Bull contract. Adviser Helmut Marko also made it clear the team would not stand in the driver's way as long as their demands were met by Alpine.
