Pierre Gasly takes positives from Australian GP despite race-ending collision with Esteban Ocon

The Alpine Team Principal is adamant that Pierre Gasly is no longer concerned over the team's performance.

Pierre Gasly takes positives from Australian GP despite race-ending collision with Esteban Ocon

Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly joined Alpine F1 for the 2023 F1 season. The French driver finally left the Red Bull family in favor of a new challenge. However, things have not gone to a great start as the Renault works team is still stuck in the midfield back. Pierre has stated his frustration over the lack of pace. Though Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer mentioned that things have changed after the Australian GP

The Alpine team boss spoke about how the French driver was frustrated over the result of the race. However, Pierre Gasly was happy with the team’s pace in the Grand Prix. He said, “So, although he wasn’t happy because he was so close to fifth place, he was more pleased with the fact that he could race genuinely up at that level.”

YouTube video
Gasly is on the verge of receiving a race ban if he gets 2 more penalty points

Subsequently, Szafnauer was confident that Pierre Gasly is satisfied with the performance of the team. The 58-year-old said, “So, it was almost like this race is behind him and our pace is good.” Although Otmar pointed out that Gasly wasn’t angry on the team and rather wanted to extract the pace in the car. He said, “[Pierre] wasn’t angry. He wasn’t upset, he was more positive that the pace was there.”

FS Video

Discover: How much does an F1 race suit weigh?

“If you’re racing for fourth, you’re racing for second,” Otmar Szafnauer on the 2023 F1 grid

Adobe Express 20230402 1258350 1
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided at the second restart of the race

Otmar acknowledged that Alpine had the chance to get a great result at the Australian GP. However, the late crash between Pierre Gasly and Estaban Ocon meant that the team left Albert Park with 0 points. He said: “We were on for scoring some good points and a well-deserved fifth place for Pierre on merit and good pace.”

The Romanian-American further said how Alpine is working on upgrades for its car this year. As the team expects to capitalize on the tight pecking order. Otmar Szafanuer stated, “We have 20 races left. Let’s bring the upgrades. If we can have the same pace and race among the top five cars… this year, if you’re racing for fourth, you’re racing for second. It’s that close.”

The Alpine team boss concluded by referring to Pierre Gasly’s pace in the race. The Frenchman had managed to keep up with Carlos Sainz. Gasly also managed to stay ahead of Lance Stroll in the much faster Aston Martin. Thus, Alpine and Pierre are more than happy with the way the team extracted the pace out of its car in Melbourne.

Thus, Otmar Szafnauer is adamant that Pierre Gasly is no longer concerned about the prospects of the French team this season. Alpine was the best of the rest in 2022 after defeating McLaren for fourth in the standings. However, it appears that the French team will need to work round the clock in order to even put up a fight to defend its previous year’s position.

In case you missed it: