Pierre Gasly, a promising first with Alpine

His smile, barely tarnished by the fatigue linked to the 135 laps covered, was exactly the same as the one seen a few hours earlier on the sunny face of Fernando Alonso. Three hours later, night had fallen on the Yas Marina paddock, and Pierre Gasly delivered his first impressions in his new costume, before joining his engineering team to analyze his session. 

“I am very happy, and even positively surprised, detailed the Norman. Everything came pretty easily. I came into this day very open-minded because it's the first time I've had a complete change of environment, with a new car to get to grips with. Everything seemed different to me at first, the steering, the feel, the length and stiffness of the accelerator pedal... We managed to complete everything we wanted, I felt comfortable in the car and I clearly understand why they finished 4th in the championship.”

Pierre Gasly delighted with his first day

Obviously, after a particularly frustrating year 2021 at the wheel of a Alpha Tauri a little reluctant, the Frenchman took great pleasure in confronting a car more playful and less lazy. “It’s a car that has a lot of downforce at the front, and a certain ease in slow and medium corners, he jubilant. It's interesting because these are aspects that we worked on a lot this year with AlphaTauri. My first feeling behind the wheel of the car is great. I could feel what was in her stomach, her rotation, her potential…”

A hard worker and not afraid of technical questions, Pierre also began working on relationships with all the members of the team, starting with the engineers. " It was great. That was the main reason for this day, to start working with the engineers, the mechanics, and to make sure that we speak the same language. They were also able to understand what I need as a driver and I am very happy with what I saw and felt in general.”

Ideal start of collaboration between Pierre Gasly and Alpine © Florent Gooden / DPPI

From the point of view of the time, even if it doesn't mean much due to the different conditions and programs of each person, Pierre was at the forefront all day long. He concluded the morning in the top 5, before finally finishing 4th on his final push lap.

“On the last stint, we pushed a little more than the rest of the day, where we mainly focused on discovering and working on the new tire. We didn't make any mistakes all day. There are parameters that I like to have on a single-seater that we can work on. It was good to do this day today and not wait until February for the engineers to understand what I like. »

More than a rhythm, the Habs already seem to know what they want and do not hesitate to communicate it to the team. To see him on the track with Esteban Ocon, however, we will have to wait for the pre-season tests in Bahrain at the end of February. Before that, it's time for a well-deserved vacation for the two tricolors. And something tells us that after such a successful day, Pierre Gasly's will undoubtedly be even better than expected. 

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