Pierre Gasly has said that his performance over the United States Grand Prix weekend was his best of the season, but Alpine still have room for improvement.
With seventh place in the Sprint and sixth in Sunday’s grand prix, the Frenchman picked up his second-highest points haul of the season, adding 10 points to his tally.
Gasly’s Sunday performance was bettered by a strategy call to opt for a shorter final stint on the Hard compound than those surrounding him on track.
After stopping on Lap 37, it took Gasly just six laps to regain the two places he lost as a result of the late stop to cross the line eighth.
The disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc further bolstered Gasly’s result, promoting him to P6.
“I think we identified very quickly [in practice] what didn’t work so well on the car and made the right changes,” Gasly said via RaceFans.net.
“So, I’m very pleased in terms of work and performance and extracting the maximum out of the package. I think that was probably the best weekend so far this year and that’s why we need to build on for next season.”
It wasn’t plain sailing for Gasly, who lost three positions on the opening lap. However, caution was all a part of the Alpine driver’s plan to make gains in the long run.
“There were just some pretty aggressive guys out there,” he remarked.
“I knew I had to keep my nose clean because we had the pace today and there was no point to risk everything in the first lap, so I think it paid off.
“I managed to get the best result in both races. I was P7 yesterday, P8 today [later P6] and the car ahead of us is the Mercedes of George, which also finished in P2 with Lewis [Hamilton] in both races.
“We know we are not there yet to fight with these guys, so I must say I’m pleased with the way we’ve executed the whole weekend and from the team I think it’s probably our most complete weekend so far this season.”
Despite a turbulent year for the Anglo-French marque, Gasly believes that the team’s performance in Austin points towards a better spell for Alpine.
“I think it’s about the processes and the way that we’re working and trying to improve in all different areas: analysis, reviews, feedbacks, reactivity,” the 27-year-old said.
“There’s definitely some very good progress happening so I’m very pleased with the way we’re working.
“This is not perfect, there’s still things we can improve, but I think the main focus is just trying to find a package which is stronger and with more potential than what we have at the moment to close the gap with the guys ahead of us.”
