A superb end to the season for Alpine continues as a P5 finish for Pierre Gasly at the F1 Qatar GP has seen the Enstone-based team led by Oliver Oakes take back P6 in the Constructors’ Championship heading to Abu Dhabi.
They lead Haas by 5 points now after Hülkenberg had scored two points in the Sprint to move the American-owned team back in front.
5th place on Sunday is far the best result for the team in dry Grands Prix this year, with a previous best result of P9 on four occasions.
Recovering from a bad start and going long
Off the line, Gasly lost a place to Yuki Tsunoda. However he quickly recovered his P11 starting spot as he passed Alonso, and then got by Tsunoda later in the first stint.
What made his race, however, was extending the medium stint. Even without the Safety Car, he was going to overcut Magnussen as he showed fantastic pace, with the Haas struggling on hards.
Sainz and Hamilton’s tyre failures, Pérez’s spin, Norris’ penalty saw him finish P5.
In fact, it could have potentially been even one better as a huge lock-up at turn 1 on the penultimate restart saw him lose out to Russell.
Oakes discussed the race Gasly and Alpine F1 had afterwards.
“Yeah, I think today was a mega race.
“I think the first few corners we were a bit frustrated. We felt we’d not given the race away, but we were on the back foot a bit there.
“And then I think that first stint, let’s say, where Pierre kept Magnussen honest and kept pushing him to the point where he did have to change tyres and we were able to keep going, I think was really a key part of the race.
“But then I think the strategy, making those calls again in the high-pressured moments, and then the final bit of the race, managing all of that, you alluded to it, but he was a bit frustrated that we needed to be a little bit conservative in some areas.”
Holding off Sainz
After the Ferrari driver had passed Gasly into turn 1 because of the aforementioned lock-up, the Frenchman got him back into turn 6 as Sainz had a snap on the exit of T5.
Following the final Safety Car restart, it was all about fending off the Spanish driver.
Gasly has been flying in the dry recently, and he received plenty of praise from Alpine F1 team principal Oakes after the race.
“But he did a great job, and I think his defending there of Carlos [Sainz] was brilliant.
“And I have to say to Pierre that he’s really bringing it home.
“It’s great to see.”
Lift and coast towards the end
With 10 laps to go, Gasly was told to start lifting and coast, including for up to a second at one point. It led to the 28-year-old wondering if he should let Sainz through.
However, his race engineer asked him to defend, and he managed to do so. In the final couple of laps, he was back to pushing normally again.
Although Oakes would not reveal why Alpine F1 asked Gasly to do it, post-race messages from his engineer suggests things were very tight on fuel, as he was asked to not go full throttle as well.
Regular stuff that happens in a Grand Prix
“No, I think it’s really normal in a race. I think it’s just a normal thing.
“Certain things, whatever it could be, you have to manage certain things.
“I think that race was a bit abnormal as well, because you had the Safety Cars, you had to drive them through the pit lane, you had the debris, so I think it was quite normal.
“I think as well, we’re trying to go at the pace of a Ferrari, which we normally wouldn’t be. We’d be trying to race manage in a different way.
“But I think a real credit to everybody there, because on all sides of the team there, that was really great to see everyone working together.”
Gasly galvanising the Alpine F1 team, says Oakes
For most of 2024, Alpine has struggled to make Q3, had a car that was plain slow, and they also had an overweight in the early part of the year.
Nonetheless, this has not stopped Pierre Gasly from getting the team around him to deliver their best, according to Oakes.
He’s scored points in three of the last four events, and it could have been 4/4 had his engine not failed in Las Vegas following his joint best grid slot of P3 in F1 without grid penalties included.
Oakes also discussed his personal relationship with Gasly.
“Obviously I knew him a bit from the junior stuff.
“I think we had dinner once in Paris just before he went off to Super Formula. I’ve known him a long time.
“At the end of the day, if you’re one of 20 in F1, you’re a top-level driver anyway.
“I think what surprised me really is how good he’s been in the team, getting them around him, and more so in those high-pressured situations.
“I really think that was tough again today. You’re asking him to do some race management, keep a guy behind you, and if you don’t mind, could you drive quick as well and not make a mistake?
“He really did soak it up well.”
Strong work ethic
Gasly delivered a stirring message to the team ahead of the race as Alpine looked to reclaim P6 in the Constructors’ Championship.
Oakes once again praised Gasly for how he integrates himself within the team and the effort he makes to spend time with them.
“I don’t know really, because part of you sometimes that phase of the race goes over your head doesn’t it on the pit wall, you’re just sort of getting set up with everything.
“But I think he is genuinely someone who likes to fire up his side of the garage.
“I think he works really hard as well, he’s always here in the evenings doing his stuff, having dinner in the team, I think that’s just who he is.
“To me obviously I’ve only worked with a couple of drivers, so I can’t judge how it is for others on the grid, but I think he does the right thing there.”
