In a remarkable turn of events, Pierre Gasly showcased his prowess in qualifying for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, securing fourth position on the grid, marking both his best grid position of 2023 and Alpine’s best since Esteban Ocon started P3 in Monaco.
Photo Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
Gasly’s performance was not only impressive but also strategically significant, as he managed to outpace established names and even eliminated the likes of Perez and Hamilton in Q2.
At the end of the session, his efforts culminated in a spectacular lap that secured him the fifth position on the grid, and he was later promoted to fourth following Carlos Sainz’s grid penalty.
In a post-qualifying interview, he expressed his surprise at today’s performance. Despite his initial apprehensions due to Alpine’s lack of engine power, Gasly found himself in top form, attributing his success to an unexplained sense of comfort in the car, allowing him to deliver some of his best laps of the year and stay within two tenths of Verstappen, who starts P2 tomorrow.
“It was so unexpected; came into the weekend and into qualifying thinking it was gonna be probably, the most difficult weekend and challenging session of the season.
“And somehow, with no explanation, I just felt good in the car and managed to put some of my best laps of the year and be right at the limit, A tenth or so away from Max, who’s lining up in second tomorrow,”
Gasly acknowledged the pivotal role of the team in his success, thanking the team for the collaborative effort that contributed to providing him with a competitive car, adding: “Very pleased, the guys gave me a very good car; I hope tomorrow the car can be as fast [as today].”
Looking ahead to the race, Gasly anticipates doing a lot of defending against a number of cars out of position on the grid, but he is hopeful the predictions can be wrong again.
“We’ll give it all; I’ll stop looking at the predictions because they are clearly wrong for today so hopefully they can be wrong tomorrow, and hopefully I can surprise the team again.”
