Alpine shows improvement in China
Pierre Gasly impressed once again in the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying, securing seventh place on the grid, the same as in this morning’s Sprint. The key difference, however, was the Frenchman’s reduced gap to the top, shaving half a second off his previous deficit and ending just three-tenths behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. Gasly is confident there is still plenty of untapped potential in the Alpine A526.
“Yesterday I qualified seventh, and I did it again today, but with a smaller gap to the leaders, so that’s what made me happiest,” said Pierre Gasly. “The Sprint this morning was a bit disappointing because we ran through the tyres quickly, so we made some setup changes, increasing front downforce. Hopefully, that will help us in the race tomorrow. A qualifying like today is also encouraging for the team, because we were only three-tenths behind the McLaren. We need to keep working and hope to gradually close in on the group ahead of us.”
Learning from the Sprint
The Sprint didn’t go as planned, as Gasly finished outside the points due to high tyre wear. Alpine’s team responded with setup changes that appear to have paid off. Pierre Gasly’s optimism extends to tomorrow’s race, as he believes the improvements can translate into stronger performance over the distance.
Energy management shows progress
Gasly also noted significant gains in energy management compared to Australia, suggesting that, with the knowledge gained, this level of performance could now be replicated at previous circuits. “If we went back to Melbourne right now, I think we’d make Q3 and probably run even better in the race. It was the first event with these new cars, and I think we performed a bit below our potential. The car still has some limits we’re working on, and I think we’ve already made progress this weekend, even without introducing upgrades, just with some adjustments. There’s still room to improve in certain areas of the current package. Now we just have to try to confirm this in tomorrow’s race.”
Maintaining momentum and focus
Pierre Gasly acknowledged that the progress made in just a few days has been a big boost mentally, instilling confidence in the team’s direction. However, he stressed the importance of staying focused, as Formula 1 waits for no one. “I know what we’re doing, but I don’t know what others are doing. It will be a race to the last development, and I’m really curious to see what the future holds. The goal is simply to create some gap to the cars behind, close in on those ahead, and, if everything goes well, join the fight. I don’t know if that will be possible, but the team is working hard and upgrades are coming. That alone makes me excited.”
Consistency is key
Like many drivers, Pierre Gasly highlighted that qualifying now is more about consistency than outright pace. Exceeding limits risks depleting battery in critical parts of the track. “It’s really a matter of being consistent. You can do a perfect lap and try to improve on the next, but then you risk having 5% less battery in key areas where you need full power, which can be costly. So we always try to adapt and find the right balance. It’s a challenge for everyone, because the objective now is to be consistent over 99% of laps: with all the things we have to manage, hitting the perfect lap every time is very difficult,” he concluded.
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