OFF THE GRID: Take an exclusive look into Pierre Gasly's off-track life in our new F1 TV series

When a Formula 1 driver arrives at a racetrack, he selects full race mode and puts everything else out of his mind to focus on the day job. Over the course of the last decade covering the sport, that's usually the mode they're engaged in when I get to talk to them through my role as an interviewer for F1. But for a change of pace and as part of an exclusive new series, I headed Off The Grid to hang out with the sport's elite racers away from the office.

In episode two, French racer and Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly invited me to Milan, the place he now calls home. The 29-year-old, who like his rival Oscar Piastri in episode one gave up one of his rare days off to take part in filming (rather than via mandatory team media or commercial time), talks about the pain of losing one of his closest friends, his demotion from Red Bull and resurgence at AlphaTauri, his relationship with fellow French racer Esteban Ocon and the next chapter with Alpine.

Pierre Gasly's grandmother was a regional kart champion, his grandfather competed, too. So it's perhaps no surprise that Gasly found himself sat behind the wheel of a kart, which he borrowed from Ocon, when he was six and instantly fell in love with it.

"The speed, the fear, the adrenaline I felt on that day was so strong, I can still remember it even if it was 23 years ago," he says when we chat on his very comfortable sofa in his Milan apartment. "I fell in love with the sport straightaway."

The Frenchman battled his way through the junior ranks, catching the eye of Red Bull, who brought him into the family as part of their junior programme. He went on to win GP2 – the feeder series to Formula 1 at the time – in his second full-time campaign, and hoped that that would be enough to earn promotion to a Formula 1 seat. Unfortunately, he missed out.

"It was so hard to take as I was told, 'If you win the GP2 championship you are going to get a shot in Formula 1'," he says. "It was like a slam in my face. I thought, 'Okay, what do I need to do more?' I kept the mentality that I would get my shot."

Gasly kept his head down, focused on the testing opportunities he got with Red Bull and Toro Rosso – and then the phone rang. It was Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull's recently-departed motorsport advisor.

"I remember I was jumping on my bed in Malaysia," he says. "I went as a reserve for Red Bull. He called me to say get ready – this weekend, you are racing. When I got the shot, I was the happiest. I remember going on the grid and knowing I'm given this chance, now it's in my hands, I have the car, the team, the people – now it's up to me and I'm in control.

"I did four or five races in 2017, and then I started the season in 2018. In the second race, bang – P4 in Bahrain. It created straight away massive hype. Right after Budapest, Daniel [Ricciardo] announced he was leaving [Red Bull]. I remember arriving in Greece for my holiday, and it was like, 'Whoa, Daniel is going'.

"Red Bull had Carlos Sainz as an option and they had me. It's between Sainz and myself. The phone rang and Helmut told me 'Okay, you're a Red Bull Racing driver at start of next year – this was six months into my first [full] season in F1."

We take a break from filming to have a tour around his very tidy apartment. The carpets were all ripped up shortly after he and his girlfriend got their dog Simba. The smooth floors provide endless entertainment for Simba as he excitedly zooms around the apartment on the slippery surface as Gasly shows us around. His balcony offers stunning views across Milan – and is where he often hangs out with friends when he gets some downtime between races.

He's got a games room, complete with simulator and framed shirts of his favourite footballers, including Lionel Messi, who he met while on holiday. Gasly is big into football, so much so, he became a co-owner of French third division club FC Versailles.

We switch back to chat mode – and get into his unfortunately short stint at Red Bull. "I'm not going to lie, it was sad," he says. "2019, my second year in Formula 1 – there was no support from anywhere, in a very big team which is very much supporting Max [Verstappen] – for good reasons, because he's put on the results.

"But I'm starting with a fresh engineer coming from Formula E who didn't have experience in F1. So it was a strange dynamic. I wasn't really given the tools to really perform. I tried to fight my own way because I wanted, and at the end of the day I'm there to, perform. They were not happy, but I'm not happy too because I could see I couldn't show my potential."

Gasly was demoted back to Toro Rosso after around six months of racing. "It almost felt like a relief," he says. His first race back was the Belgian Grand Prix and it turned out to be the most intense weekend of his life. Naturally, all the questioning on media day was about his demotion.

"It's not a nice energy," he says. "I'm there to do my thing and try and give my best but it's a lot of negativity. I go through that. I just want to drive. Then came Saturday..."

His friend Anthoine Hubert, with whom he raced in karting from aged nine to around 14, suffered a fatal accident on the second lap of the F2 feature race at Spa, at the same venue where Gasly was set to compete in his first race back with Toro Rosso.

Gasly and Hubert were like brothers growing up. They ate breakfast together, went to class together, trained together. Gasly would do 13 push ups, so Hubert would do 14. They pushed each other to get the very best out of each other.

"Initially, I didn't know who was involved," says Gasly, "It looked bad. The team manager told me Anthoine was involved. As soon as the briefing was done, I ran down to get more info. I saw in the distance my parents just broken in tears. Sadly I understood straight away what had happened."

He adds: "You get taught a lot at school and by your parents but you never get told how you're supposed to deal with yourself in this sort of situation. The one thing I regret is that in Budapest after the race [before the summer break], we went to party with Anthoine.

"I didn't want to leave too late. I tried to find him but I couldn't find him. I walked out, I saw him on the terrace. I waved at him and said 'have a good summer and see you at Spa'. I never got to see him again before the crash.

"I just wish I waited a bit longer in the club to hug him or say bye in a slightly different way. It taught me to appreciate the moment we live, with the people we love, and just to never take anything for granted."

We take a break from the chat to head out onto the streets of Milan in search of Gasly's favourite coffee place. There's naturally a vast selection of sweet treats on offer – and while the Frenchman admits he does take one every now and then, the ones he says he chooses are not much bigger than a Malteser because it won't take him long to burn off on a treadmill.

It's then onto his favourite store in the city for a bit of retail therapy. Gasly loves his fashion, which won't be a surprise if you've ever seen him in his civvies.

"I want to discover other worlds," he says. "The first time I came to Milan, I was staring at how beautiful the people were. The style... everyone is so elegant. I've seen the coolest grandmas walking around town. When you go out, you need to make sure you wear some nice stuff."

Gasly is a stylish guy. He's also a guy who knows what he wants, so it doesn't take him long to pick out a few pieces.

It's then back to his story. We recall the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he out-dragged Lewis Hamilton to the line to take second – and his first podium. It's a special moment in his life – and one that he is reminded of every day as a painting of that drag race is up on the wall behind his sofa.

"People wrote me off too quickly because they don't know me, they don't know what sort of mindset and mentality I have," he says. "This is my whole life. Thinking of that podium still puts me a smile on my face."

Gasly is incredibly tough and oozes resilience. That's perhaps not surprising given how much heartache he's endured before he's even turned 30. It's that mental strength that has enabled him to rebuild his career – and led to him achieving his first Grand Prix victory in Monza, the home of his then-AlphaTauri team, in 2020.

“It was incredible, which is why I took that moment on the podium, to process the millions of emotions and thoughts that crossed my mind. I was in my own world. These few seconds, I’ll keep with me forever.

"It was a unique moment as it was Covid, so there was no one there. The one year where Monza never looked that empty. It was a bit of a shame, but it gives me a good reason to win again in Monza!"

While Gasly hoped for a shot back at the main Red Bull team, that never looked likely – so when Alpine came calling for 2023, he grasped the opportunity. "I put pen to paper on Anthoine's birthday," says Gasly. "Anthoine was an Alpine [Academy] driver. Everything fell into place on Anthoine's birthday – I couldn't believe it."

That put Gasly alongside Ocon at Alpine. The two have history. "We could make a full documentary about this," he says. "We used to spend Wednesdays and weekends together pretty much every week, him going to my place, me going to his place. We had a strong bond.

"Sadly, there was a turning point in one of the races; it sort of fell apart after that in a dramatic way which is difficult to explain. We know exactly where we come from. We know what we had to go through to make it. We also both know it was actually a good thing that we had that rivalry to push us beyond our potential. I have no doubt that in 10, 20 years we'll be able to talk things out and talk things through in a different way."

That relationship seems to be improving, as was evidenced when they embraced each other on the podium in Brazil in 2024 after scoring an unlikely double podium for Alpine.

"In the space of eight months, we went from last to getting not one but two cars on the podium," he says. "The faces on the team were priceless. It was one of those races where I'm sure post-career, I’ll pinpoint it as very special."

Gasly has emerged as Alpine's team leader, his most recent contract extension meaning he's set to stay at the team for six years. The hunger to succeed is unwavering – and he firmly believes he has what it takes to reach the very top.

What do the next five years look like for him? "F1 and hopefully, with Alpine, World Champion!" he says. "I know it's difficult for people to process. How can I say that if we're fighting for just a few points, but I believe with the people we have, I can see us fighting at the front."

Given the way Gasly has fought back from a succession of knockbacks to recover each time, it would be unwise to bet against him. Alpine just need to give him a car that can fight at the sharp end, and then it'll be up to him to deliver.

You can watch the full episode of Off The Grid with Pierre Gasly exclusively on F1 TV now.