Pierre Gasly has expressed his satisfaction after his outstanding performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he achieved a seventh place, thus surpassing the current champion, Max Verstappen. The French driver has described the Alpine A526 as the best Formula 1 car he has had in his career.
The Alpine A526, designed for the new technical regulations for 2026, has been improving throughout the season thanks to Gasly’s efforts, who qualified seventh in the last three sessions, including the sprint race. In Japan, he achieved a small margin of three seconds over Verstappen before a safety car grouped the cars, complicating his strategy.
Despite the pressure from the Red Bull driver during the final laps, Gasly held firm and managed to cross the finish line with a difference of 0.337 seconds. “It was a long race, with a lot of pressure,” declared the driver, who explained that he had to concentrate fully to manage the tires and avoid making mistakes.
When analyzing his season so far, Gasly notes that, in addition to the Alpine A526, he fondly remembers the AlphaTauri from 2021, which helped him achieve notable results. Currently, the Alpine is in fifth place in the constructors’ championship, with Gasly in eighth place individually.
With optimism, Gasly hopes to continue improving in the upcoming races, including the next one in Miami, and trusts in the performance of his car, which has proven to be competitive on different circuits. “We have a good base and we are working to get closer to the leading teams,” he stated, adding that they will continue working to optimize their weaknesses.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
