Quite a surprising ending to the last round of Qualifying for the F1 Austrian GP, with Pierre Gasly spin calling out a last minute yellow flag that cut short many driver’s chances for one last lap.
Gasly pushed his Alpine to the max
Out on what would have been his last attempt in Q3, Gasly lost the rear of his Alpine and went into a double spin at the exist of the last corner.
There, where Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen had already spun at the start of the weekend.
“I think I was pushing a lot and I did a mistake,” he said in the print media pen on Saturday after Qualifying.
“I knew I had some, I felt like I had a bit of time to get in that last corner after my lap in Q2. So I went for it and unfortunately when I turned in, I didn’t manage to rotate the car the way I wanted.”
That’s when he lost the rear of the A525.
“I didn’t get the apex the way I wanted. I went on power, tried to turn the car and eventually it didn’t go the way I wanted. I’m not happy about it,” he explained.
He will start from P10, not a disastrous result given that in FP3 he only managed to put his Alpine into P17.
“On the other side, I’m still happy about the rest of the qualifying. After all the different practices, we didn’t look in a very strong place. From Q1 to Q2, we really managed to put some strong laps together.
“Still some positives, I think. Ultimately, I think I was pushing very hard to get there and it cost me at the end.”
A mistake that decided front row for the F1 Austrian GP
After the spin Gasly managed to restart his Alpine, but only to return into the garage.
A costly mistake not only for him and the team, but also for Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
The spin caused yellow flags to be waved as they both were on their last attempt to improve.
And so, Piastri had to do with a P3, behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, while Verstappen closed back in P7.
What could have been
On the other end it was rather a positive Qualifying for the Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson finishing in P6 after an impressive drive.
A pace Gasly believes he could have kept up with, was it not for the last minute crash and a windy Spielberg.
“I think the lap I did in Q2 and Q3, the conditions were a bit worse with the wind. I think I would have been tied with Lawson, somewhere there.”
A good headstart would have been particularly helpful for Alpine, as they seem to struggle more on race pace rather than single lap speed.
However, starting in the top 10 still gives them the chance to score some solid points.
“We know our best races this year were whenever we got a Q3,” admitted Galsy.
“We know Sundays are usually a bit harder for us with the day. But when you start in the top 10, it’s more about making the right call for the strategy and fighting the couple of cars around you rather than having to make a lot of runs.
“I think we’re definitely in a good position and excited to see what we can get tomorrow.”
