“Forced to retire in Monaco on Sunday after a collision with Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly believes that the Barcelona circuit should be better suited to his Alpine. Regarding the introduction of the FIA directive that encourages teams to introduce less flexible front wings, the Normandy native believes it will not deeply upset the hierarchy.
“A debate was launched on Sunday, after a soporific race, on how to improve the show at the Monaco Grand Prix. What are your thoughts on this?”
This is a Grand Prix that is fantastic until Saturday night. Personally, it remains one of my favorite circuits in qualifications, the adrenaline of really being at the limit of the car on a city and complicated circuit like Monaco is a challenge that I appreciate enormously.
Now, there is a lot of frustration on Sunday from everyone for different reasons. What needs to be looked at primarily today, in my opinion, is that we saw this year cars that were running eight seconds off their limits and yet it was still not possible to overtake them. This clearly shows that something needs to be done.
Do we need to act on the layout? On the cars? On something else? I think there is not just one element that needs to be changed but that it is a little bit at all levels. In any case, we will have to react because it is an incredible Grand Prix but for the spirit of the sport, it is not normal to run eight seconds off the times, to block and not to be overtaken as was the case for some, on Sunday.
“There will be changes, but I think we’re talking about hundredths.”
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Transitioning from Monaco to a Different Circuit
Indeed! It’s true that it was a rather frustrating weekend for us, but it also highlighted the level of competition on the grid this year. We were 18th on the grid, even though the gap itself isn’t very significant. In Q1, we were 7 tenths off the best time, but since everyone has a well-performing car this year, as soon as we’re not in the right operating window of the car, we pay a heavy price.
In other years, being 7 tenths off would easily put us in the top 10, but those days are over. In a season like this, every detail is important. A lot of work has been done in recent days, there are many things we would like to try to change the way the car is made. But Monaco is a very special Grand Prix, we expect Barcelona to suit us better.
Impact of the New FIA Directive on Front Wing Flexibility
There will be changes, but I think we’re talking about hundredths. The grid is so tight that a few hundredths in one direction for one team and a few hundredths in the other direction for another team can result in changes of one or two places on the grid, but it won’t overturn everything.
McLaren won’t find itself in eighth position and conversely, we won’t find ourselves leading the pack. We’ve prepared well for this, we know the differences it brings, but it’s primarily a question of balance and car behavior. At least on our side. Perhaps others have managed to find even more things, so I think it will be important to watch what happens on Friday.
