Pierre Gasly explains race-ending collision with Yuki Tsunoda in Saudi Arabia: “An unfortunate contact”. Pierre Gasly discusses his race-ending incident with Yuki Tsunoda at the Saudi Arabian GP.

Promising results
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend had started with an unexpected result in the first free practice session, with Pierre Gasly setting the fastest time. The Frenchman, who had finally scored Alpine’s first points of the year in the previous Bahrain race, seemed to be in a good position for another top-10 finish in Jeddah, as evidenced by his 9th place on the starting grid.

The incident at the start
However, Pierre Gasly’s race ended shortly after the start due to a contact with Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull. A collision and impact against the barriers prevented the 29-year-old from continuing the race and aiming for a top-10 finish, leaving him disappointed: “It’s never a good feeling to end the race on the first lap after an incident,” he commented. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a situation like this, and it’s a disappointment for all of us in the team. I had a good line at turn 4, I knew Yuki was on the inside, and I gave him enough space while keeping the car within the white lines. The contact with him was unfortunate, but these are racing incidents, and sometimes that’s how it goes. We know this track is not our strongest on paper, but we managed to be competitive and fight for points. This gives us confidence, and we can build on these positive aspects for the upcoming races.” – the French driver pointed out at the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

No points
Another race without points for Jack Doohan, who started 17th on the grid and finished 17th. After five races, the Australian remains among the small group of drivers still stuck at the bottom of the standings without any points, alongside Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, and especially two-time world champion Fernando Alonso: “It was a tough day, and we faced several issues during the race that prevented us from making progress. We took a brave strategy, opting for hard tires under the Safety Car on the first lap with the goal of staying out until the end. Despite the car feeling comfortable in the corners, we couldn’t get past the cars ahead, and once we pitted to regroup, we were caught by those behind us who had stopped for fresh tires with a different strategy. In the end, the single pit stop was difficult, and we had to pit again to make it to the finish. We have a week off to rest and assess things before Miami. Over the next few days, we’ll spend some time in the simulator and work with the engineers to learn as much as possible from this weekend and continue to maximize the car’s potential.”