Pierre Gasly happy not to start in Mediums in Qatar

Pierre Gasly in the top 6 in qualifying, it has become a chestnut tree, a train that passes on time. And yet, it would be appropriate not to trivialize the performance of the Norman, qualified 4th in Qatar on Saturday and for the 15th time in 20 races in this famous top 6. “Qualifying was incredible, he confided in the mixed zone to our reporter. This track is definitely one of my favorites. Its layout is cool, and with the right settings, you can really push it to the limit. I love driving here” he confided.

And yet, this track that he loves caused him a little inconvenience on his second flying lap of Q3. “On the outside of turn 15 I pushed a bit hard and was quite surprised and shocked to lose the front wing. I don't think I was that far into the bend, but it suddenly broke. The spoiler literally sliced ​​the right front tire. But in the end, we did the job by qualifying 4th behind the two top teams. It’s been a hell of a weekend so far.” he delighted.

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Asked to come back to the breakage of his wing, the Habs pointed out a certain fragility. “We know that our front wing is weak compared to the others. We lost it in Bahrain, in Monza and in Sochi too, in certain corners. It seems really fragile, we will have to analyze what happened. In any case it's a shame, because on this last lap of Q3, I improved by a tenth and a half, I don't know if Valtteri (Bottas) also improved or not, but it could have brought us very close to him and third place. »

Departure in Tenders 

Gasly will obviously be satisfied with this second row which he will share with the Finn. With the firm objective of passing him at the first turn. Qualified in Q2 with the Mediums, Gasly progressed to Q3 on the Softs, even though he seemed to have the necessary pace to pass with the yellow tires. “I didn’t want to start the Grand Prix in Mediums, He explains. The path to the first corner is quite far, and I really want to maximize the start and the first lap. I think we made the right choice to qualify in Soft. » A choice which should allow him to get off to a good start, which seems to be his only little Achilles heel this season. 

In any case, Alpha Tauri will need the full potential of its Norman leader in the fight for fifth place in the manufacturers' standings against Alpine. The French Grand Prix winning driver was also surprised by the performance of the French team, notably with fifth place in Fernando Alonso in qualifying. “I didn’t expect them to be so strong, he admitted. I think we're stronger than usual ourselves, but it's even stronger for them. I leave in front of Alonso, and Yuki (tsunoda) before Esteban Ocon. We also beat the Ferrari and McLaren. I expect a big fight this Sunday on the track. »

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