As the preparations for Spain Grand Prix intensifies, so does Pierre Gasly’s enthusiasm.
“Personally I am super excited to see what we can achieve here,” he said in a media session on Thursday in Barcelona.
Photo credit: Alpine F1
Having experienced a taste of success last week with Alpine at Monaco, notably outperforming rival teams Mercedes and Ferrari, Gasly is hungry for more.
“Monaco was definitely a big step forward.” he reflects. “That’s the sort of performance that I want to see from the team and I can see all the efforts they are putting, all the hard-work.”
Feeling disappointed as he was only “one step away” from getting on that podium finish, he stated that if it wasn’t for the tyre strategy, he could have been in Ocon’s place. He acknowledged that the decisions were made on valid grounds.
The 2020 Italian Grand Prix victor only pitted a few laps before the rain fell. At the time he was running in P3 after doing a long opening stint.
“The team had their reasons,” he said.
French driver explained that he remains hopeful that another opportunity will arise for him by saying “It wasn’t my time in Monaco but I will have another chance this season.”
Fastidious in his analysis after having built up an understanding over what is working well and what needs improvement within the car, watching each upgrade come into fruition gives the Alpine driver great satisfaction.
When asked about how he feels about the car, he replied: “More understanding on what’s good on the car and what’s not that good. Later we will have stronger package, more consistent, more reliable, more robust…”
The 27-year-old also optimistically commented on his adaption process within the team by saying: “Every weekend is a good step forward.”
Photo credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
Although the Frenchman ended his words on his relation with the team on a positive note, he still needed further proof to confidently state that the car will do better in the next races to come.
“I don’t want to make a conclusion based on one performance; we have to repeat it again,” he explained.
“Monaco is a performance I want to repeat and a performance I believe is achievable in Alpine. If we achieved it in Monaco, I don’t see any reasons why we wouldn’t achieve it again in other race tracks.”
Gasly acknowledges that there may still be some challenges before ultimate perfection spills into reality. “Even if I finished P3 in Monaco, it still wouldn’t be perfect. It’s [perfection] a feeling, a sensation that when you know nothing could have been better over the weekend. It takes time,” he replied when asked how many races does he need to feel like he is delivering perfection.
“Seeing evolution, progression every weekend is what I care about the most,” he added.
Overall “pretty pleased” with how things are panning out for both himself and Alpine currently though, Pierre Gasly insists no stone should be left unturned if they wish to reach ever greater heights.
He reflected on his performance by saying: “If you ask me whether I am exploring 100% of the potential, then no. Couple areas here and there need to be worked on, need to be discussed, need more communication.”
