Brake problem knocks Gasly out of points in Australia: "We were ahead of Antonelli who finished 4th"

Alpine left this first Grand Prix of the season in Australia empty-handed. The French team did not score any points in Melbourne, despite promising performances in qualifying. However, the arrowed A team was quickly deprived of a car with Jack Doohan's accident on the first lap of the race. All hopes then rested on Pierre Gasly, qualified in Q3 the day before. The Norman was in the points for a long time, in 9th place, behind Lewis Hamilton.

When the rain returned and intensified, with twelve laps to go, Pierre Gasly attempted to repeat the feat of Brazil 2024 by staying on track on slick tires, a bold gamble in the face of an increasingly heavy downpour. Having climbed back to 3rd place, the Frenchman was finally forced to pit to put on intermediates on a soggy track, relegating him to 8th position. And while he seemed to be heading towards this result and the four points awarded, the Norman lost his footing, first by going wide at the first corner and losing two positions to the Ferrari, then being powerless in the face of Oscar piastri.

Pierre Gasly ultimately finished just outside the points, in 11th place, a disappointing result for him and the A-scorched team. In the mixed zone, the Rouen driver admitted that he encountered a problem with his front brakes during the final safety car, which notably explained his excursion off the track at the first corner in the closing laps.

Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 11th in the Australian Grand Prix on Canal+ : “During the last Safety Car, the brakes went out at the front, I couldn't brake anymore so I was stopped. It was a crazy race, we took risks by staying out with slick tires. At that point, we had finished the whole race in the points. Unfortunately, it wasn't the right choice, but with the information we had, it was difficult to do better. We made a decision, unfortunately it wasn't the one that would have brought the most points. We were ahead of Antonelli, Stroll et Hulkenberg who finished 5th, 6th and 7th (sic). It's a shame, we're not going to turn our heads after that. It would have been nice to start the season with points, but we were in the Top 10 wagon throughout the race.

"We know we have the performance, even if this weekend I had a lot of brake problems, it's something that will have to be sorted out next weekend and for the rest of the season. Otherwise, the car has the performance. We know it was a circuit where the sensations were different from Friday, but we still managed to fight, to make Q3, to do almost the entire race in the Top 10 not far from tsunoda, who should have been in 5th or 6th position. These are the positions we're fighting for. When it was wet, with the slick tires, I managed to pass Tsunoda and not make any mistakes, we were in a good position. But we should have put the intermediates on earlier. That's how it is. We'll come back to China and we'll try to get those points."

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