Impressed by his third-place position on the Las Vegas Grand Prix grid, Pierre Gasly knows that the real challenge lies in the race. The hunt for points is on to defend Alpine’s sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
The images inevitably jostle in his mind. The words too. It starts with pats on the shoulder, hugs with a visibly delighted George Russell, happy to acknowledge Pierre Gasly’s performance. There’s also Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, two of the most respected voices on the grid, who both praised Pierre’s “fantastic performance”. A third place on the grid, earned fair and square, on a dry track, with the sixth-best F1 team since Brazil. The ninth if we go back one Grand Prix earlier.
From a distance, in the heights of Rouen, Pascale and Jean-Jacques Gasly, Pierre’s parents, got up early to enjoy a significant boost with their morning coffee and croissant. But to dream of a top 3 finish for their son… The moment was filled with family emotion. The kind of thing that makes you rush to the bakery to buy a strawberry tart and another raspberry one. A treat reserved for weekends that bring smiles. And never mind if it’s not really the season.
“This kid is incredible,” Pascale, the mother, laughed emotionally. On site, Pierre Gasly was overwhelmed, swept up in the media whirlwind post-qualifications. A dance of solicitations that the Normandy native had so far experienced five times on Sundays, with the podiums of Monza (1st in 2020), Interlagos in 2019 (2nd in 2019 and 3rd in 2024), Baku (3rd in 2021), and Zandvoort (3rd in 2023). He had to constantly answer a stream of similar questions. Such is the life of a driver after a top 3 finish in F1, where one is always celebrated and scrutinized with grandeur and insistence.
Pierre Gasly, 3
“Crossing the line, I knew I had completed an almost perfect lap”
Good sport, and driven by pleasure, Pierre Gasly switched to autopilot mode, replaying his Q3 lap, woven on a thread: “Crossing the line, I knew I had completed an almost perfect lap, but to make P3 ahead of the McLarens, ahead of Max, ahead of Charles, ahead of Lewis” (Hamilton), “I didn’t expect that. It was unexpected. After what happened in Brazil with our two podiums, Esteban” (Ocon, 2nd) “and me” (3rd), “the team’s morale was high. And now, it’s even more of a mental boost.”
A small joy, because we are at the end of Friday night in Las Vegas and the prize distribution is set for the next day (around 7:00 UTC on Sunday). “It’s a real surprise,” admitted the former member of the Red Bull academy. “It’s very slippery here, tricky, we don’t have any grip. I was aiming for Q3. A place like 9th or 10th seemed a reasonable goal. We only had one set of new tires so the adrenaline was at its maximum. I only had one chance to set a time. I’m happy for the team. But let’s wait for the race to celebrate this.”
Happiness without a point is not really happiness. However, starting so high on the grid, the Alpine driver will theoretically avoid the traffic jam of turn 1. But he will have to watch behind him a Max Verstappen (4th), who never takes prisoners, and a Lando Norris (6th), who can sow confusion with his sometimes erratic starts. Once out of the start trap, the Frenchman will then have to play the card of reason, to save his tires on an abrasive track, rather than entering into absolute resistance against faster than him. An obviousness for him. At least when he’s cool-headed. Even then…
“If there’s an opportunity to seize this weekend, we’ll try to grab a podium of course,” he launched. “I’m starting from the right side of the track, but the first turn is very tricky here. There’s little grip. We’ll have to be careful. And I know that behind, there are drivers who have a much faster race pace with their cars. Everything will depend on tire degradation. Here, it can quickly become complicated.”
Started 4th last year, he finally finished 11th
Starting fourth last year on this same circuit, the Norman had seen his race turn into a nightmare (11th at the finish), victim of the famous graining (wear from the outside) of his tires which, suddenly, gives you the impression of driving an F1 on an ice rink: “This phenomenon will inevitably handicap some cars, like me last year. It cost me dearly. We’re working here so that it doesn’t happen again. It will be a real battle for points. A real collective challenge. We will also have to manage the wind that constantly changes direction. But it will be the same for everyone. I just hope I haven’t used up all my luck in the city of games, because the main thing is Sunday. But already the other day, here, I managed two birdies in golf. Even at the casino it smiled at me.”
So? “So, it’s going to be tight until the end. There are three Grand Prix and a sprint race (in Qatar) still to be contested. But we’ve put ourselves in a strong position with our place on the grid compared to Haas and Racing Bulls. It’s going to be exciting. We have to defend our sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.” And next to Rouen, we’ve checked, the bakeries will indeed be open on Sunday.
