Saturday has been a very positive day for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly ahead of the F1 São Paulo GP. The day had started out with a strong drive in the Interlagos Sprint Race, with Gasly scoring his first point since Spa with a positive run at the damp track.
A strong Saturday
It definitely won’t be easy for the Frenchman to return on the podium like he had done in the previous year, completing the French outlet’s only double podium of the season alongside at third teammate Esteban Ocon.
However, 2025 so far has not been the kindest year to Alpine, with the French team generally struggling to even advance to Q2 and currently sitting in last place in the teams’standings, forty points behind Sauber.
He was pleased about his top ten start. However, he is not completely content because of the tightness of the gaps to the top 5, and even to the podium.
“We’re on the wrong side of the pack, let’s say. I think seven hundreds get us to P5. It is what it is.I mean, at the end of the day, I think I look at where we were last week, the week before, last month, two months ago, I think we can be extremely happy to be seven hundreds from P5 and four tenths from pole position. I mean, if someone would have told me that coming into the weekend, I would have taken it.
“So yeah, I mean, it’s just nice. This morning we managed to score one point, managed to get in P8, which is the first time since Silverstone. So overall, I think it’s a very, very good day for us.”
An unexpected performance
Asked on what changed in order to allow such an improvement compared to his last challenging performance in Mexico, Gasly admitted they’re not sure. In fact, Alpine didn’t bring new car specifics to the F1 São Paulo GP.
“No, no, I mean, there is much bigger things to understand, which at the moment we just got to dig, because it’s not like the car is very different than it has been. And yeah, from the first lap, it just felt like a completely different car, more similar to what I’ve had when the car was at best this year, in Bahrain or this type of track.”
Consequently, Gasly admits there will be a lot to work on after the F1 São Paulo Gp, in order to try and maximise the potential of his A525 before the end of the season and the beginning of the new generation of F1 challengers in 2026.
“So, bigger picture, a lot to understand. Mostly on my side at the moment, I’m more enjoying session after session and actually feeling like I got a car that I can race with and drive more the way I want to drive.”
Good signs for the future
In spite of the French team being able to consistently perform at the Brazilian track over the span of the years, the 2020 Italian GP winner hopes his great run can be replicated in the upcoming final rounds of the year.
“I think track characteristics play quite a big factor, but I cannot believe it’s only down to that. So, we got to understand more.
“I know the guys are looking very deeply into it and there is… It’s quite complicated, but we need some answers. At the moment, we have a lot of questions, not many answers. Hopefully, we’ll have some more in the coming weeks.”
What could be in the cards for Gasly in the approaching F1 São Paulo GP? The Frenchman acts coy, but would definitely hope to be able to mailing his starting P9, if not improving it.
“I’m not going to… There are a few ideas, but the reality is, yeah, we don’t fully…No, I don’t want to say anything which might not be true.”
