Pierre Gasly explains his “costly” spin at the end of qualifying in Austria

Pierre Gasly admitted to being too aggressive after losing the rear of his car in the closing moments of the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, ultimately finishing 10th on the grid.

A beautiful 10th place for the Frenchman

Qualified in Q3 for only the fifth time this season, the Frenchman was on his final flying lap when he lost control coming out of turn 10, spinning on the start/finish straight.

If he was able to restart, Pierre Gasly had to immediately return to the garage. His mistake caused a double yellow flag, also preventing some of his competitors — including Oscar Piastri — from improving their times.

Result: he could do no better than 10th, more than 2.5 seconds off the pole set by Lando Norris.

Questioned after the session, Gasly fully took responsibility for his mistake: “I pushed a lot. I made a mistake,” he admitted.

« I felt that I had a bit of margin in the last corner after my lap in Q2, so I went for it. Unfortunately, when I turned, I couldn’t rotate the car as I wanted. I didn’t hit the apex correctly, I got back on the throttle trying to make it turn, and it didn’t go as planned. I’m not happy. »

Alpine in search of performance

The season is difficult for Alpine, which is stagnating at the bottom of the constructors’ standings with only 11 points — all scored by Pierre Gasly.

But the Spielberg circuit seemed to suit the A525 single-seater better: Gasly reached Q3 with the 6th fastest time.

« I’m still satisfied with the rest of the qualifying. After the free practice sessions, we didn’t seem very competitive. I must say that in Q1 and Q2, we managed to do some good laps. So there are positives to take away. But in the end, I pushed very hard to get there… and it cost me dearly. »

According to him, he had the pace to compete with Liam Lawson, who ultimately set the 6th fastest time. « The lap I did in Q2—in Q3 the conditions were a bit tougher with the wind—I think we would have been on par with Lawson. So somewhere around there. »

Despite the frustration, Gasly remained optimistic for the race: We know that our best races this season are when we make it to Q3.

We also know that Sundays are a bit more complicated with tire degradation.

But when you’re in the top 10, it’s more about making the right strategic decisions and fighting with the cars around you, rather than having to climb up through the entire field.

So we are clearly well positioned, and I can’t wait to see what we can do, he concluded.