In the 8th season of his Formula 1 career, one would arguably say that it’s Pierre Gasly who faced the most changes this year—all due to the unpredictable nature of the second Alpine seat.
With speculations and rumours linked not just to his teammates but also at his future in Alpine, the French driver became the receiving end of constant pressure. Despite this, Gasly has no plans to leave the season without proving everybody wrong—and it’s closer than we think.
Early woes in Melbourne and Shanghai
For the first qualifying of the season, Gasly showed promising pace when he qualified P9, miles away from the pain of Bahrain last year. This spelled out satisfaction for the Frenchman after a less convincing practice session.
During the race, however, unstable weather conditions became a problem for team strategy when he stayed on slicks in the middle of pouring rain. This allowed drivers behind him to overtake. He slipped away from the points due to brake issues and running off at turn 1, finishing in 11th place for the race and the championship.
Shanghai, on the other hand, easily became a weekend to forget for Gasly. He failed to pass the first Sprint Qualifying session after being impeded on his last flying lap, qualifying at P17. In the Sprint, after a four-way battle between Hadjar, Bortoleto, and Lawson, he managed to make it through at P12.
For the qualifying session, Gasly didn’t see clear skies either after an early Q1 elimination, finishing P16. He went on to cross the line at P11 in the main race. This eventually turned upside down due to his car being underweight, disqualifying him alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Renewed confidence and sudden heartache
Slight improvements welcomed Gasly in Suzuka, where he started from P11 which brought a sense of optimism for the Frenchman. With the feeling of comfort in the A525, he crossed the line in P13, while then-teammate Jack Doohan finished in P15.
This continued in Bahrain, which saw surprise for Gasly as his strong pace brought him to an amazing P5 in qualifying. With Alpine yet to score a point and Antonelli’s one-place grid drop, this gave Gasly a confidence boost and even voiced out his satisfaction with the A525’s performance. For Sunday, he finished in P7 amidst a Safety Car restart and losing his well-defended position in the last lap.
Jeddah saw Gasly leading FP1 for the first time this season, a positive indicator for the next sessions to come. After topping the timesheets of FP1, the Frenchman qualified in P9, just behind former AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda. This ended in heartache, however, as contact with Tsunoda at the first lap would send him to the wall, ending his race.
Gasly’s first points haul during Sakhir brought Alpine to 9th for the Constructors’ standings. His personal standings bumped up to 11th place.
Late changes and consequences for Miami
Touching down in Miami meant one thing—Sprint sessions. For the Sprint Qualifying, Gasly didn’t manage to get into Q2, only qualifying P13, ahead of then-teammate Jack Doohan. The Sprint race saw him weaving his way to P10, adding another point to Alpine’s tally.
The Frenchman had qualified P18 above Stroll and Bearman in a disrupted session in Florida. Due to changes done to his suspension under Parc Ferme, Gasly was required to start from the pit lane. He also managed to escape an investigation for yellow flag infringement during the race when Gabriel Bortoleto’s car stopped, keeping his final position of P13.
He took home one point from the Sprint but fell one place down in the drivers’ championship.
A rollercoaster triple-header for the Frenchman
After the driver swap which saw Franco Colapinto as Gasly’s new teammate, the experience at Emilia-Romagna proved to be turbulent than ever.
The Frenchman got his first free practice session in Imola interrupted after colliding with a rabbit on track. This not only brought an unscheduled stop for his affected front wing but also raised issues on wildlife safety and track security. He went to set the third fastest time in FP2, calling it the best Friday of his year. Gasly started in P10 for the race, but after overtakes and a one-stop strategy, the Frenchman fell down to P13.
Up next was Monaco, which saw an untimely Q1 exit once again for Gasly at P18. He eventually started at P17 after Bearman’s 10-position penalty. All would end too early as he’d be the first retirement of the race after crashing into the back of Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull with an attempt to overtake. Gasly escaped a penalty for the “ambitious” overtake but got hit with a reprimand instead from the FIA.
Barcelona offered a bit of reprieve for the French driver after the ups and downs. Gasly made it through Q3 with a lap time of 1:12.199, putting himself in P8. After a grueling 66-lap run, he managed to keep his position from when he started, crossing the line at P8 as well.
With four points added to his name, Gasly now sat in P14 in the drivers’ championship.
Misery in Montréal
There’s not much to say about the Canadian Grand Prix for Gasly, who endured a sweltering qualifying session in Montréal. History repeated itself, nonetheless, when Alpine released a team statement that Gasly would have a pit-lane start again due to late changes done to his car. The Frenchman would eventually finish the race in P15, climbing positions due to the DNFs.
This left him still in P14 in the drivers’ championship.
Spinning out in Austria and Silverstone’s miracle
Austria saw him narrowly missing Q3, just three tenths away from P11’s Fernando Alonso. This was worsened by his spin in Q3 that affected many drivers’ attempts for one last lap. Gasly’s efforts to make P10 count did not go his way, launching to P6 at first, but tyre degradation saw him slipping back to P13. He left Spielberg with no points, reflecting on his disappointing weekend with a newfound determination.
It’s low spirits in Silverstone for the Frenchman, who couldn’t get past P18 for the practices. Fortunately, this was not the case in Qualifying, as Gasly put his A525 in Q3 once again in P10. With Colapinto’s Q1 spin, the French driver expected the race to be tough—and it sure was. With the chaos brought by mixed conditions, Gasly weathered through the storm to achieve his season-best result of P6.
Silverstone brought out Gasly’s ability to show up during such conditions, putting him in P13 for the championship.
Twelve weekends after and moving forward
Twelve rounds later, the tide seems to turn in Gasly’s way after his stunning Silverstone performance. Despite the unpredictable nature of his car, team, and future, the Frenchman has his eyes on next year when Alpine finally gets hold of the Mercedes power units. Until then, Gasly can only strive to fight like a warrior ’till the very end.
Anthoine Hubert’s words telling Gasly to “prove them wrong” stand strong until this very day. It feels more of a reassurance, especially now with the swirling Alpine rumours coupled with the A525 failing to deliver expectations.
The 2025 season has a long way to go. For some, it will be a chance to reflect, to find redemption, to see their name at the top step. For Pierre Gasly, it’s twelve more opportunities to take risks—and perhaps the next time he risks is the one that proves everybody wrong.
