Pierre Gasly hailed an “absolutely incredible” feeling as Alpine has turned around the worst car on the grid to a P3 performance in qualifying for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Gasly has been revitalised in an upgraded Alpine since the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, taking four Q3 appearances in succession.
Vegas was his best yet, a stunning third-place finish to head the second row at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
After Alpine’s dismal start to the 2024 campaign, Gasly was rightfully jubilant after qualifying in Sin City.
“Yeah, it’s absolutely incredible, you know, as a team,” Gasly exclaimed.
“Exactly as you mentioned, we started Bahrain on the last row with both cars, and all of a sudden, the last few weeks have been quite a change.
“I’m really happy and pleased with the work the team has been doing in a season where everything looked impossible, just to still stick together and put some more performance in that car.
“Going into qualifying today, I must admit we never thought we’d be in a position to actually you know get in that top three, but yeah, I managed to have a very special lap at the right time on that last set in Q3 and uh yeah it’s a it’s a very nice surprise.”
Gasly looking to beat Alpine’s rivals
Gasly remarkably outqualified the likes of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Las Vegas.
Looking ahead to the race, the Frenchman isn’t “thinking about” these heavy hitters, but Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg of RB and Haas respectively.
After Alpine’s double podium in Brazil, the Anglo-French squad leads the race for sixth in the F1 Constructors’ standings with 49 points.
That’s three more than Haas on 46 points and five more than RB on 44 points.
Tsunoda and Hulkenberg qualified seventh and ninth respectively.
“I think we know where the target is for us,” Gasly said.
“We’re fighting Haas and [RB] in the Constructors’.
“Obviously, whatever happened in that quali is amazing. It feels good to be in front of Max and McLaren and these guys.
“But at the end of the day, it’s not our fight. So we’ll give our best shot tomorrow.
“It’s a challenging one around here with the graining. So we’ll make sure we do our homework tonight to maximize the chances tomorrow.
“But for sure, from P3, we increase our chances to get some good points.”
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