Gasly and AlphaTauri played the main roles in qualifying for the F1 season opener. The Frenchman started fifth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and ahead of McLaren drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris.
Gasly’s rookie teammate Yuki Tsunoda also showed speed boosts but missed a spot in the third quarter.
AlphaTauri’s pace of qualification has made Gasly confident that the Faenza-based team will be at the top of the midfield throughout the 2021 season.
“In my opinion [with] The pace we’ve shown all weekend is in the mix with the Ferrari and the McLaren and that’s the positive, “said Gasly.” I think we will clearly fight with them and on all tracks. “
While Tsunoda impressed on his debut by advancing from 13th to 9th in the race and passing Lance Stroll on the last lap of the race, Gasly’s race was ruined on the first lap when he met Ricciardo and for a new pit fight front wing had to compete.
Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Gasly, who eventually retired from the race with further damage, was disappointed that AlphaTauri’s promising pace wasn’t converted into a large amount of points.
“When I had contact with the McLaren, the race was almost over after that,” continued Gasly.
“I broke the front wing, damaged the floor and then it was pretty much everything. We still had a few problems towards the end of the race which meant we had to take the car out of traffic.
“Of course I am very disappointed because there was a good fight with the Ferrari and the McLaren. We missed some good points.”
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Gasly believes the upgraded form of AlphaTauri, set to be improved through incremental improvements up to the Spanish Grand Prix in May, will also be encouraged about what lies ahead for the team, starting with the Emilia Romagna GP in Imola next week.
“Given the positive results, I think we showed a very strong pace in qualifying all weekend. The long-term on Friday looked strong and I think we would have been in the fight with the Ferrari and the McLaren,” he added .
“It didn’t happen so now we just have to get on with our work and focus on the next one and make sure we get the points there.
“I am sure we will fight with them again for the next.”
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