Sixth on the grid, the “best possible result” for Gasly
After two underwhelming performances in qualifying, the Frenchman has this time maximized his current potential. However, there is still room for improvement!
17th in Melbourne, 13th in Sakhir… 6th in Shanghai! Yes, Pierre Gasly’s progress is visible: eliminated in Q1 in Australia, in Q2 in Bahrain, the French driver has this time achieved his first Q3 for Red Bull Racing, his new team.
11th in Q1 this Saturday, the Norman made an effort in Q2 by moving up to sixth place, with a time of 1:32.948, just 20 thousandths ahead of Hülkenberg’s Renault in 7th, but more importantly, two tenths above the cut for the eleventh place.
6th on his first Q3 lap, in 1:32.930, Gasly maintained this position at the end of the session. Enough to make him happy: « I think it’s the best result we could hope for! It was a good day, I’m happy with the position, I have a better feeling than the previous weekend (editor’s note: in Sakhir) »
The Frenchman still had some luck, unable to perform a second flying lap, with the timer starting after the session ended. Like the Haas drivers, Gasly fell victim to the misunderstanding ahead of him between Verstappen and Vettel. Worse, the 2016 GP2 Series champion narrowly avoided a collision in the final corner with his own teammate! No damage nonetheless and a sixth place preserved, honor intact: the main party finishes ahead of his two closest rivals, the two Renaults, driven by Ricciardo and Hülkenberg.
Despite this cheerfulness, Gasly still has work to do, consistently beaten by Verstappen, his formidable teammate. “I’m not completely satisfied with my driving: I’m still struggling with the car!” he confided candidly to the paddock journalists.
The heart of the problem? « The traction out of corners. I struggle a lot with the car as soon as I hit the throttle! » indicates the former Toro Rosso driver, who has been suffering from this issue since the start of the season. « I still need to change my driving style a bit. We’re working with the team to find settings that suit me a bit better. »
In any case, Gasly will start the race on a different tire strategy compared to the five drivers in front of him. They will be on yellow-banded mediums, while he will be on red-banded softs! The whole interest will be to have a good start to the race before switching to medium tires. Especially since on this track, the gap between Red Bull and the Mercedes-Ferrari duo is smaller than in Sakhir. If he finally feels comfortable in the RB15, he should not miss any opportunities! Let’s remember that Gasly only has four points, gained in two races.
