Pierre Gasly claims he’s yet to adapt to the operating style of Alpine’s A523

Pierre Gasly has had quite a few struggles so far in his A523 F1 car.

Pierre Gasly claims he’s yet to adapt to the operating style of Alpine’s A523

Pierre Gasly (Credits: Motorsport)

Pierre Gasly joined the Alpine F1 team ahead of the 2023 F1 season and has since had a mixed bag of results. With the Dutch GP approaching pretty fast, he has admitted that while he’s had around 12 races with the French team, he’s still adapting to how the A523 operates.

Pierre Gasly believes that the A523 being the upgraded version of last year’s car, has got some things that are not to his liking but, at the same time, has revealed he can’t do anything about it. The A522 was developed as per the racing styles of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, and thus, Gasly feels getting to grips with the A523 is a learning process for him.

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While talking about the same, he said, as reported by Soymotor, “I still feel like I’m in a kind of learning process. Not everything, but certain issues or communication. I wish I could say we’re 100% there now, but this takes time. Cars have become very complex. Sometimes we still talk to each other about what I want from the car and what they can give me.”

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“This Alpine is the evolution of last year’s car, driven by Esteban and Fernando. I had no involvement in it. Some things I want are not possible with the existing package. However, I hope that the car will do better for me at the end of the year. Then I will also be able to give the team better feedback and the engineers, in turn, will be able to translate that into updates or the new 2024 car,” he added.

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Pierre Gasly is currently behind Esteban Ocon in the 2023 standings

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (Credits: F1)
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (Credits: F1)

While Pierre Gasly has admitted that the A523 has proved a learning process for him, his statements co-relate with his performances compared to his teammate, Esteban Ocon. The latter has been with the team for some time and is incredibly versed in the handling of Alpine F1 cars.

To put things into perspective, Ocon has managed 35 points in the 2023 season, whereas Gasly has only managed 22 in the same number of outings. Moreover, the former has even scored a brilliant podium finish at the all-important Monaco Grand Prix, Ocon has proved himself superior in all aspects.

However, the upcoming second leg will provide Pierre Gasly with at least ten opportunities to improve his performance in the A523. The Zandvoort F1 circuit is a free-flowing track, and considering the aggressive racing style of Gasly, the way could prove rewarding for the French starlet.

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