Pierre Gasly admits he will have ‘nightmares’ of Alex Albon’s rear wing after having no answer to Williams’ staggering straight-line speed at Spa

Pierre Gasly was frustrated to be stuck behind Alex Albon at Spa-Francorchamps after a slow pitstop.

Pierre Gasly admits he will have ‘nightmares’ of Alex Albon’s rear wing after having no answer to Williams’ staggering straight-line speed at Spa

Pierre Gasly (image via Kym Illman), Alex Albon (image via GPFans)

Pierre Gasly had a good start to the Belgian GP as the Frenchman clinched a P3 finish at the F1 Sprint. However, the main race was not as good for the Alpine driver after crossing the chequered flag outside the points. Gasly has now revealed his frustration after being stuck behind the Williams of Alex Albon for part of the race.

The French driver had a botched pitstop that made him lose crucial time to his competitors. This allowed Albon to jump Gasly and take track position. The Alpine car proved no match to the Williams regarding the straight-line speed at the Belgian circuit. As such, Pierre Gasly was convinced that soon glimpses of the Williams rear wing would appear in his sleep.

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Gasly is quoted by Racingnews.360, “I’ll probably have nightmares of that Williams rear-wing. Because these guys, it seems like a different category on the straights.” Moreover, the 27-year-old was stuck behind Oscar Piastri’s damaged Mclaren at the start of the race. This made the French driver a sitting on the run-up to Eau Rouge with multiple cars overtaking the Alpine driver. He stated, “All the guys passing me in from I think ninth or 10th. I ended up 17th so not the start we hoped.”

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A mixed weekend for Alpine amidst a leadership shake-up

Former Alpine Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer and Pierre Gasly (Credits: @BoxutcaF1/Twitter)
Former Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Pierre Gasly (Credits: @BoxutcaF1/Twitter)

Alpine made headlines even before the Belgian GP weekend got underway. The French team fired its Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer, and long-serving Sporting Director Alan Permane. The Spa-Francorchamps weekend was the last for the two key figures on the Enstone-based team. Nevertheless, Gasly’s third-place result provided a positive note amidst a challenging time for Renault’s works team.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon continue to have faith in Alpine. The all-French driver line-up has given some promising results this season despite a couple of races with double DNFs for the Enstone-based team. The French team would be looking to bounce back with full swing once the F1 paddock reconvenes after the summer break at the Dutch GP.

Thus, Pierre Gasly has expressed his frustration over the difficulty in passing Alex Albon at the Belgian GP. The Williams FW45 is reckoned as an extraordinary machine in a straight line. Although the Frenchman managed to finish the race ahead of the Thai driver, it was still less than satisfactory, with just a P11 finish to round up the weekend.

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