Pierre Gasly will start P7 for the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday on a day to remember for Alpine. Teammate Esteban Ocon will start P3 after a mega lap in the final segment of qualifying.
It was nip and tuck on pace between the two Frenchman throughout the weekend. Indeed Gasly was slightly quicker in Q2. However, he was 0.380s slower than Ocon when it mattered most.
Gasly looked at the positives post-qualifying for the whole team and explained what held him back as well.
Photo credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
“It’s a very good day for the team. A very positive step forward compared to the first few races. They did a very good job.
“From my side obviously, frustrated and disappointed with Q3 because we didn’t do the lap when we had to do it. The rears locked and sliding way too many times on some of the entries but at the end of the day that’s what you have in Monaco.
“We’ll work from there and analyse what we could have done better. Overall I am satisfied to see we’re making progress as a team.”
When he was asked if the car was at its best in qualifying this weekend, the 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner said it was a mixed bag.
“Let’s say there was times in quali where it was better then slightly got worse, depending on the out lap etcetera.
“I think what I’m seeing is we’re closer to the front than we’ve ever been so far this year. That’s definitely a positive and means we’re getting more from the package we’ve got and that’s the most important thing.
“Hopefully what you’ll see from us in the coming races will be even better.”
Gasly went on to explain further the issues he’s been suffering with in regards to rear locking throughout the weekend.
After going faster than his stablemate in Q2, it got worse again in the final part of qualifying.
“The rear locked. I’ve been struggling the whole weekend with that. In Q2 I managed to get that under control, but in Q3 it was again worse.
“I don’t really have answers for now but we will see.
“Today still feels like it wasn’t a perfect job and we are splitting the two Mercedes. We’ve got to look at it in an objective way to see that we are making progress.”
Heading into the race on the streets of Monte Carlo, Gasly is P10 in the Drivers’ Championship, with Alpine tied on points with McLaren in the battle for P5 on the Constructors’ side.
