Co-author: James O’Connor
After enduring a difficult Sprint race that saw him finish 14th, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly is surprised by the dramatic turnaround during the qualifying session that took him into seventh for Sunday’s main race.
The Frenchman was very pleased with the turnaround in such a limited amount of time during a Sprint weekend. The team had only one practice session to understand their upgrade package and the new parts they had brought.
Only Gasly has the updates this weekend.
“It’s a fantastic surprise. I’m very happy because we made quite a lot of changes after the Sprint.
“On a Sprint weekend, it’s not easy because you don’t have much time to actually figure out, especially when you’ve got a new package and new parts on the car, you don’t have much time to understand or try things.”
The set-up tweaks after the Sprint made Gasly’s A524 car much more enjoyable to drive and easier to get lap time from, according to the 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner.
He was P3 in Q1, and the French driver backed that up in Q2 as he comfortably got through to Q3.
“And we made quite a few changes set-up-wise and the car was just in a much better place.
“A lot more potential, more drivable, more controllable. It was reacting well to my driving.
“I was just very pleased. A lot more enjoyable. I managed to book some very strong laps, [in] Q1, Q2, [and] Q3.
“I’m very happy for the guys to see the parts have some good potential.”
Gasly was over 0.4s quicker than teammate Esteban Ocon in Q1 and Q2, suggesting that the updated package is a genuine step forward.
The driver of car number 10 was happy at how quick he was all through the three segments, as his Q1 lap was not in vain.
“Relative to the field, clearly today we were in the mix. Every single lap I was putting out there put us in a decent position.
“It wasn’t only one lap. That’s what I’m most pleased about.
“I think we still need to figure out […] we obviously have some ideas. I know what we’ve changed on the car.
“The effect was, let’s say, quite important for what we did. I’m sure it will help the guys to unlock even more potential.”
However, Gasly remains grounded when asked if he is confident about the race pace and challenging the likes of George Russell and Oscar Piastri starting ahead of him.
Haas finished P7 and P8 in the Sprint, and Gasly is wary of their pace.
“Honestly, I’ve got no idea. Move up? In front, we’ve got Russell and Piastri. They’re in a different league.
“At the moment, looking at the last two races, we were fighting to get out of Q1. Now we’ve made it to Q3. I think that’s my best qualifying of the year this year.
“Before looking at the top four, we’ll look at our battle. I think Alonso will be able to fight him. The Haas looked very strong all weekend. I think they’ll be the ones that are going to be slightly more tricky to keep behind.
“But I’m sure we’ll be there.”
After a torrid 2024 that is coming to a close soon, Gasly says the focus is on next year as they take learnings from the latest package to help them try and become a regular points contender next season.
“To be fair, everything we are doing, the most important for me is really to figure out and understand as much as possible from this package for next year.
“This season, we’ve done so many races where we’re not really fighting for any important position in the driver or the teams championship. Anything we can take that allows us to be fighting for points consistently next year is definitely positive.
“That’s what the guys gave me today. I’m also very pleased to see the correlation, whatever they’re seeing. They’re coming with a new package. It’s not always guaranteed that it delivers. There is definitely some good potential.”
The 28-year-old claimed that this has been his greatest qualifying session of the year, not only because of the result but also because of how the car felt to drive.
“Yes. I think so in terms of how the car was reacting to my driving and the way I wanted it to react. It was definitely the best sort of behaviour I’ve had.
“I’m very pleased about it. The good thing is I know clearly what we still need to improve inside the car.
“This lap time was quite close actually. I think it was 6 and a half, seven tenths from the pole. It’s quite easy to identify what’s still missing. I’m very, very pleased overall.
“There are some good directions to still improve the package.”
Gasly did feel that the upgrades were a step forward already on the simulator, although there are certain things that cannot be replicated in the sim.
“In the sim, it was proving to be an improvement.
“But then after on [the] track, there are so many different parameters and conditions, especially with the bumps around here, it just made it quite tricky.
“Earlier in the weekend, it just felt like the car wasn’t coping in the best way with all that bumpiness.
“I think we’ve definitely found some good direction which seems to be working here.
“Now we just need to obviously confirm tomorrow. And hopefully, it can be the case for the next few races.”
