Pierre Gasly predicts minimal shifts in the 2024 F1 team hierarchy, attributing it to the distinct design philosophies under the budget cap.
Pierre Gasly does not anticipate a drastic change in the Formula 1 grid in 2024. The French driver believes the gaps between teams will largely remain consistent, partly because the cars across different teams have turned out to be less similar than expected under the current budget cap.
However, Gasly does see a positive shift towards the rear of the F1 field. Heading into his second year with Alpine in 2024, Gasly does not think the season will unfold much differently from his debut year.
The French driver does not foresee the grid closing up. “I think it’s still too early,” Gasly honestly stated to Motorsport Week. According to him, this is also because all the cars still differ significantly from one another. “Last year showed us that Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, and our car were all very different. You would expect everyone to converge on the same type of car by now, but for some reason, that hasn’t happened.”
Gasly Foresees Unique F1 Cars in 2024
Gasly also sees no signs that the cars will become more similar throughout the 2024 season due to upgrades and development. “I still expect the cars to be very unique and remain quite different. Things will change up until September, and then everyone will start focusing on 2026 (when the new regulations come into effect). So yes, we’ll have to see where all the teams stand in Bahrain.”
Gasly: “We all have very short memories”
During the 2023 season, there were many fluctuations regarding which team was the second-best on the grid, behind the current world champions Red Bull. Gasly doesn’t think these fluctuations are new to motorsport. “I think we all have very short memories, so we remember very well what happened last week, but five years ago is much harder. I’m sure if I sit down and look back at 2021, 2020, 2022, we’ve always had that. Quite competitive, and that’s what you expect from Formula 1.”
What was different in 2023, according to Gasly, was that no single team consistently lagged at the back end throughout the season. This gives the Frenchman hope for the future. “Hopefully, it can get even closer this year. As a driver, you ideally want most cars to have minimal performance differences. Then you have more influence on the final result, and hopefully, that’s what we can see this year.”
Gasly Sees Stable F1 Grid Dynamics in 2024 Season. Gasly Sees Stable F1 Grid Dynamics in 2024 Season
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