Pierre Gasly openly criticizes Alpine F1, demanding urgent improvements in their overall performance.
Pierre Gasly arrives in Belgium somewhat irate, following two Grands Prix, in Great Britain and Hungary, where he couldn’t defend his – slim – chances due to consecutive retirements.
The Frenchman reflects on Budapest, “a very frustrating weekend in all respects” before speaking about Belgium this weekend, the last race before the summer break.
“As a team, there are clear lessons to be learned to move forward, especially regarding the recurring issues that need to be resolved. It’s particularly disappointing for me since the first half of the race was going as planned and we were on track for a good result. Of course, you never know how things will unfold, but it was looking positive, especially having started from the pit lane. Everyone is determined to do better after two consecutive challenging events. I have confidence in my team and I know they are all giving their utmost to prevent the same mistakes from happening again.”
A more soothing tone which contrasts with what he expressed on Sunday evening to the French-speaking media.
“There are too many issues, too many problems. I think we were in contention for one or two points, and then the hydraulics failed, the day before it was the strategy, the week before I didn’t race at Silverstone because of the gearbox.”
“There are simply too many issues and I know the team is much better than this, so we just need to do much better collectively and stop missing opportunities weekend after weekend.”
“These are two different issues. The hydraulics and the gearbox, that’s reliability. In qualifying, it was the strategy. I know we shouldn’t be making these kinds of mistakes and I have confidence in the team, I know they are good enough not to do this, so we just need to be more focused, we need to be more in the game.”
“As I’ve said, it’s frustrating because we’ve delivered the performances needed, even from the pit lane, to reach the top 10 and compete for those points. We’re experiencing a tough season; we must capitalize on every opportunity, and we’re simply not giving ourselves the means to do so.”
Gasly believes things should improve at Spa. And perhaps capitalize on the rainy weather forecasted for Friday and Saturday.
“We’re aiming for a better weekend at Spa before heading into the summer break. We performed well there last year, finishing third in the Sprint, an incredible result. This time, the format will be traditional, and we are incredibly determined to do our best following the previous challenging events. I love this circuit; it’s one of my favorites, but the emotions I feel there will always be mixed. The first half of the season has been difficult for everyone, at the factory and on track, but our situation is much better than in Bahrain, and we can still improve.”
And as always, Gasly will have an action for Anthoine Hubert, who died in 2019 on the Belgian track.
“I am once again organizing a race in memory of my friend Anthoine Hubert, nearly five years after his tragic passing. All staff from the F1, F2, and F3 paddocks are invited to run or walk the Spa circuit in his memory on Thursday evening. We will make a stop at the top of Raidillon to honor Anthoine before heading down the Kemmel Straight to pay tribute to Dilano van ‘t Hoff with our friends from MP Motorsport.”
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Alpine F1’s Issues Test Gasly’s Patience Alpine F1’s Issues Test Gasly’s Patience
