Pierre Gasly had no words and was surprised how F1 British GP panned out for him after making most of the situation, as Franco Colapinto rues mechanical issue.
It was not the kind of start Alpine’s Gasly wanted to their F1 British GP weekend in Silverstone on Friday. He made it into Q3 in a turnaround on Saturday and bettered it on Sunday after finishing sixth. It came out of nowhere even though the conditions helped in the grand prix.
Towards the end, Gasly was fighting Max Verstappen to secure a Top 5 results. He had to pass Lance Stroll on the penultimate lap to get sixth. He reckons that the team ticked all boxes on Sunday to ensure the result, knowing how their immediate competition performed.
Alpine is still last but they have handy points to their rivals ahead. “Honestly, I don’t really know where to start because P6, at the start of the weekend, no one would have ever imagined that we would be in such a position to be fighting Fernando at the start of the race, managed to get past him on the wet, I was feeling extremely good,” said Gasly to media.
“Right behind Lewis, I eventually managed to get past him as well before the safety car. Battling with Max at the end, who was on pole. At some point I wondered what the heck was going on in my race. We took the risk, but the right one. All the calls were right, the strategy was great, the pit stops were good. We made the best out of all these conditions.
“I managed to defend my position at the right time, not to lose track position and too much time. In the end, I’m just very proud of all the team because this year is very tricky for everyone. The whole race, every single lap was tricky. You’ve got to stay on track, but at the same time these are the moments where you have everything to lose, but you have everything to win.
“The other guys are also going to balance this type of risk they are taking. These are the moments where I know I have a lot to gain. I just need to go for it and be at the limit without going over that line. I love these type of conditions. I really thought like I was pushing really hard, obviously they were very fast on the straights, so I was catching [Verstappen] in some places but everytime…because the DRS detections are at the end of the straight, so the DRS detection is after Turn 2, in the last corner I was coming quite close but he was pulling away in Turn 2.
“I was in a DRS, I managed to get it once at Maggots and Becketts, I wasn’t too far for few laps but I still got to be happy with what we did, he was on pole and on podium many times this year, so it did cross my mind but unfortunately we didn’t have everything suited. We know the car is not in the place we’d like it to be, but every single day we go out there, we try our best.
“Today really showed that we’re able to perform and make the best out of the opportunities when they come to us. I’m very proud of them and very happy,” summed up Gasly. The Frenchman knows that Alpine in dry wouldn’t have secured such results, which made his drive more risk-taking in mixed conditions. Personally, he feels he is driving at a good level as well.
“On the dry, I knew it would be tough, for the reasons we obviously know around this track,” continued Gasly. “It was tricky but all in all with the evolving conditions, having to look after the tyres, push in the wets on new tyres, on destroyed tyres like, I think we really made the best out of these conditions. It wasn’t easy, there were a lot of traps, managed to avoid all of them and in the end, it is pretty much the perfect day for us.
“I think it’s always difficult to gauge, but I know I’m performing at a very high level with the car that I have at the minute. Whether it’s my best or not, it’s always tricky, but I know at the moment there’s nothing else you can get out of it. I managed to do it yesterday many times in Q1, Q2 and also in Q3. Same in the race today. I’m pleased. It’s not the first time I’m facing challenges in my career.
“I need to keep putting up and put my best every single time out there even in difficult conditions. It motivates all the guys, but that’s what I am. I’m a fighter, I’m a warrior and I always keep pushing them. I think last year the overall performance relative to the others was in a much better place. Considering the car was in a better place, we were on the podium, it was incredible, but this year I feel we are in a worse place.
“That P6 is probably as good, so I think we’re all very happy, especially to do it here in Silverstone. I know a lot of guys are here from the factory. We definitely need that boost, because we all have our eyes on next year. But for everybody to work as hard as ever, they also need a bit of extra energy and extra motivation, which I’m sure it will give them,” summed up Gasly.
His teammate did not get going at the start. He did the formation lap and pitted to switch to the hard compound but his car stopped in the pits and he was forced to retire. “I don’t know about this [problems in new power unit], I just couldn’t pull away after the pit stop,” said Colapinto. “It is really sad, I was looking forward to this race, especially looking at everything that happened.
“Some things could have gone our way looking at Hulkenberg up there and Stroll as well from the back. I think there were some opportunities to take, so just sad about everything. Going from the lap to grid, the car was quite strong, we were looking good but unfortunate.”
Here’s how F1 British GP panned out
