Alpine’s Pierre Gasly managed to drag his Alpine A525 into Q3 during the F1 British GP qualifying. The Frenchman will be starting the race from tenth but expects a tough race with plenty of struggles.
Sticking to our guns
Alpine displayed concerning pace during all the practice sessions of the F1 British GP, where Gasly and Franco Colapinto often occupied the last couple of spots. Gasly expressed his surprise at making the final shootout and attributed it to pulling out a stunning run in Q2.
“It was one of these [special] laps that comes [rarely] in a year. Looking at all the free practices, we thought we’d be knocked out in Q1 because it’s been extremely difficult.
“For some reason, we struggled so much throughout the whole weekend, and we were really not comfortable with it.“
Gasly said the team tried to “stick to our guns” and focus on the package they had and make the necessary changes.
“But we tried a lot and tried to stick to our guns, just focus on our package and try to get the best out of it.
“Starting Q1, it wasn’t great. We made a few changes with what we could, and when it mattered, that last lap in Q1, we managed to just get to Q2 in P15.
“That lap in Q2, I was very happy with it. Just every corner, absolutely on the edge. It came perfectly, and we just got through it in P10.“
Gasly advanced through each F1 British GP qualifying session with just a few hundredths of a second, but managed to make the cut nonetheless. He credits the team for a job well done.
“I think it was just every time a few hundredths, but looking at the pace, we would have never imagined to get there. So a very strong job from all the team. Execution, tyre warm-up, [and] the small set of changes we made after FP3. I’m very pleased.“
Tough, but anything’s possible
Starting in the top 10 for the British GP is great, but Gasly remains grounded and expects it to be a tough race for the team as they lack engine power.
“It’s not going to be our favourite track of the year. So I know tomorrow is going to be tough, and [on] Sunday we [usually] struggle a bit more.
“But, from what we expected and where we thought we would start the race, now I’m actually starting in the points. So anything’s possible.
“I know I’m probably going to spend most of the race looking in my mirrors and having to try to find a creative way to fight the guys around me.“
A very happy Gasly says he is ready to take on the British GP since the team managed to deliver when it truly mattered.
“But I’m ready for it. For now, I’m just very happy for the team because it looked to be very, very difficult for us. And we managed to get it done when it mattered.“
Extracting everything from a car simply lacking performance
Gasly is honest in his admission that the car was not to his liking, but this is what the team has, and they need to stick with it for the British GP.
“So far this weekend for me, it was the most⊠How to put it? I don’t maybe have the right word to say it in a kind way. But yeah, the car wasn’t very kind throughout the whole session.
“We know it’s never going to be easy. But at the end of the day, this is what we have. And it’s tough for everybody. And I think today we can be pleased because we did a better job than the others.“
Gasly said there were instances in qualifying this year where he got the best of the car, but the F1 British GP qualifying was not the case, as he felt uncomfortable.
“I think I’ve done a few this year in Quali where I really feel, honestly, I managed to get a lot out of the car. Even though I really didn’t feel good in the car today.“
“I didn’t really manage to drive. I couldn’t really drive it the way I wanted. But I just tried to find ways to make [a good] lap time [despite] being uncomfortable with it.
“In some ways, that’s probably the one that felt the least natural. But we still managed to get a very strong performance out of it.“
Gasly was hoping for a strong qualifying session from Colapinto as it would help him strategy-wise for the British GP. But his teammate failed to advance to Q2 after he spun and brought the red flags.
“It’s always better [to have my teammate with me]. I don’t want to say too much. I think it’s obvious that it’s always better, strategy-wise.
“And it’s a shame because Franco did a good job during the weekend. I don’t really know what happened in the end. But it’s always better to have the two cars and force the others into [a] strategy that may favour you.
“But it is what it is, honestly. At the moment, I’m in the top 10. We know we have fast cars around. We’ll have to fight hard tomorrow.”
