From last in points, Gasly makes up for it after failed qualifications

Saturday in qualifying, the disappointment was palpable on the face of Pierre Gasly. Seventeenth in Q1 initially before losing his time and falling back to the back of the grid, the Norman took a big blow to the head for his first qualifying steps with Alpine.

« We're going to have to work, he regretted at the microphone of Canal +. We felt good all weekend. We worked to try to have more front end because I had a lot of understeer during all the free practice sessions. In the end, it was completely the opposite.."

Gasly finds color in the race

Promised to start from the back of the grid, the Habs were betting on a three-stop strategy with a first very early, at the end of the 9^e round. After two stints on hard tyres, Pierre Gasly took advantage of the good betAlpine to keep a set of new tenders for the end of the race. A choice which allowed him to gain a few positions in the last third of the Grand Prix and above all to take the checkerboard in 9^e position, he who started last.

« I'm happy with the race and it's a great way to start this season with Alpine, savored the new recruit of the Blues. We were all disappointed after qualifying because we weren't where we wanted to be. Congratulations to the whole team for the hard work that allowed us to come back well.

The points were going to be difficult, but we were confident in the performance of our car and we knew we had a chance of scoring points with a solid strategy. We have to continue working, we have a good base and it is important to build on that. There's more to come from us."

If Pierre Gasly was smiling when leaving the Sakhir track, this was not the case for his teammate Esteban Ocon. On a very bad day, the other FrenchmanAlpine made a series of errors and penalties until it took 20 seconds before giving up, undoubtedly to preserve the engine elements. Two rooms, two atmospheres.

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