Alpine proved surprisingly competitive in qualifying ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, with both drivers advancing to Q3.
Pierre Gasly qualified a season-high seventh; Esteban Ocon initially qualified ninth, but was bumped up to eighth due to Sergio Perez’s grid penalty, making it an all-Alpine fourth grid for Sunday’s race.
Speaking after the session, Gasly expressed his surprise at Alpine’s strong form so far, stating that it’s crucial for the team to understand the reasons behind their performance.
“I think no one really saw that coming,” Gasly said.
“I always told them it’s nicer when we have to explain why you overperform rather than underperform, but it’s as important for us to find these answers because coming here we definitely didn’t expect to have a Q3 car.
“Since yesterday, there was some performance and even today it was a very clean session. Looking at the gaps, we’re only a tenth and a half from Lewis [Hamilton], and even Carlos [Sainz].”
He added that the qualifying result provided a boost of motivation for the Enstone-based squad after their recent struggles.
“Ferrari managed to win a race not a long time ago, so I must say it’s very strange, but we take it. It was a good quali and I think a very big, good boost of motivation for the team.
“We’ve got to keep going. It’s of course good. Last year I qualified fourth here, this year it’s seventh, so there’s still work to do, but definitely it’s positive to see some improvements compared to where we started a couple of weeks ago.”
Gasly admitted he’s unsure why the A524 has seemingly come alive at the Barcelona circuit.
“For now, no. I wish, but I can only tell what I feel in the car and what I feel in the car is very similar to what we’ve had, but we just seem to have somehow more potential available on it, so yeah.
“We can see a few things there and there which are interesting on data, but we need definitely more digging.”
With Alpine unexpectedly locking out the fourth row, Gasly believes it would be wise to hold internal talks ahead of the start on Sunday to avoid a repeat of the controversial clash between himself and his teammate in Monaco.
Ocon was penalised for making contact with Gasly on the opening lap of the race, ending Alpine’s hopes of a double points finish after a promising qualifying session that saw them start tenth and eleventh.
“I think we should, based on the recent events,” Gasly said. “As a team it would be normal, but as a professional I know what I’ve got to do and I’ve always kept it very clean.
“We have to. On my side it’s always been the case, so I think there’s no question there.”
