Pierre Gasly is starting P11 on the grid for the F1 Japanese GP. The Frenchmen clocked a time of 1:27.822 in Q2, missing out on the top 10 by 0.039s as Alex Albon narrowly took the final slot.
However, he reflected that the qualifying session has made him slightly more optimistic for tomorrow’s race, stating that the car’s performance in Sector One placed them among the top runners.
The data proves it. He was 7th quickest through there as he outpaced all midfield rivals.
The car has also been significantly improved from the first two races of the season in terms of feeling for the 2020 Italian GP race winner.
Gasly did also acknowledge that the car’s current package puts them at a disadvantage in Sector 2 due to a lack of grunt and straightline speed.
“I think it’s a mixed feeling because obviously I wish we could be in that top 10.
“On the flip side I think there’s a lot of positives to take looking at you know sector one where the car needs to perform downforce. The car to be well balanced and the car actually felt good. I think we were top five in Sector One.
“Sector 2 we know with those long straights unfortunately with the package we have it’s not gonna favour us and that’s where we lose you know in that sector to most of our time, so it is a bit of mixed feeling.
“But at the same time I think we made a lot of progress and the feeling inside the car definitely feels similar to where we were a couple weeks ago so I think the team did a great job on that.”
Trying a new set-up
Like all other drivers, Alpine tried a bunch of different set-ups during the session on Friday.
Gasly was asked if the set up they tested worked out in their favour during Qualifying, he replied that he was satisfied with the car’s overall balance. It was evident in the sector times that they were able to extract a decent performance from the car.
However, these factors only added to Gasly’s disappointment of not qualifying in the top 10s. It seemed as if they had the package that could work. He was only 0.676s behind the fastest car of Q2, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
“I think overall we were really you know like balance wise the lap itself was great I was really pleased with it.
“You know when we finish the session and you look at the GPS across cars it’s very easy to understand where we lose so yeah the gaps are very small.
“We’re only a tenth away from P8. Six tenths off the fastest car out there in Q2, so it was a good effort. We need to find more but overall I’ll say it’s a good step forward compared to Melbourne and Shanghai.”
Gasly finding renewed confidence in the car at the F1 Japanese GP
It is clear that Gasly is a lot more comfortable in the A525 in Suzuka compared to previous weekends. In Sector One he was more confident, especially attacking the S curves at the circuit.
It seems as if he has a newfound belief in the car this weekend, which could be because Alpine had decided to adopt a set-up closer to what they had during pre-season testing in Bahrain.
“Yeah I had a lot of trust and belief which is something we kind of lost a bit in Melbourne and Shanghai. So we went back to like a closer direction than we we had in Bahrain.
“It seems to really click with the car a bit more, so yeah I mean I was in terms of balance in the high speed like very very happy and I think we can see that also in the in the sector time.
“That’s why I think I say it’s a bit of mixed feelings because we like to be in that top ten but at the same time I think we found some really good performance out of the package we got.”
Alpine holding an advantage in high speed corners over rivals at the F1 Japanese GP says Gasly
The Suzuka circuit is obviously very different to the Shanghai International Circuit and they both provide drivers with different challenges. However, both tracks have highlighted that the A525 does very well in the high speed corners of the track. But what about the low speed corners?
Well it seems as if Alpine isn’t fairing better or worse compared to their main competition.
“Low speed I think we are on par with the others, not necessarily better than the others. Where at high speed, we’re a step better.
“So yeah, I mean there is some work to do. You know at the end we want to be faster than them [midfield rivals] everywhere but definitely I think there’s a lot of positives to take from this quali,” is Gasly’s take on the matter.
Weather preferences
The 29-year-old has been known to have a preference for the weather on race day, specifically wet weather after his podium finish at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix. This weekend is no exception. He is however confident that he will be finishing in the points regardless.
“I think either way we should be in the mix for the points so whether it stays dry weather, I mean I never mind a bit of rain to spice things up and obviously open some different strategy and bring a bit more risk into the race.
“I’ll go with a bit of wet conditions which is planned anyway tomorrow morning.”
