Alpine has established itself as the fourth strongest force in Japan: Pierre Gasly even speaks of the “best car of his career so far” – What the Frenchman now has in mind
After a disappointing start to the season, when Pierre Gasly scored just one championship point in Australia, Alpine has now finally established itself as the fourth strongest force: The Frenchman finished seventh behind Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka (race report).
“It was another positive weekend for the team with a strong points finish at the start of the season,” summed up Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore, after Gasly had already finished sixth at the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago.
“The fact that we were able to repeat this on a different track configuration like Suzuka confirms the progress we made in Shanghai and shows that we are currently the fourth-fastest car in the race with Red Bull,” added Briatore with satisfaction.
Gasly: “The best car of my career”
“That was a really intense race and I’m very happy with seventh place and the additional points for the championship,” says Gasly, who is eighth in the drivers’ championship after the third race of the season, ahead of Max Verstappen.
“It was a very good race that was excellently managed by the team,” praised the Frenchman, who was able to complete his only pit stop behind the safety car and benefit from this. “It was a positive weekend for the team and we are not too far away from some of the faster teams ahead of us.”
“The car has a solid base, so we have to stay motivated and keep working hard to catch up with the leaders,” explains Gasly, who is even clearer in an interview with Canal+: “I think it’s currently the best car I’ve driven in my career, perhaps together with the AlphaTauri from 2021.”
Pierre Gasly has his sights set on the top of Formula 1
“I’m very pleased that the car seems to be working well on the first few weekends; we’ve been able to perform in almost all areas,” added the 30-year-old. “We know where our limits are and what we need to work on.”
“But we still have a month to go, we’re working on things for Miami, so overall it’s a good sign.” Alpine also “did a good job” in Japan and further developed the A526 over the weekend, which also explains the strong pace in the race.
“We were able to pull out a good lead over Liam Lawson, who finished 18 seconds behind us, and we are seven seconds behind the Ferrari [of Lewis Hamilton] at the front,” emphasized Gasly. “So if we can keep moving forward, I hope we can keep up with the leading group.”
