Alpine: Gasly gives two points to Oakes’ ‘first’

Still in the top 10

The new era of young Oliver Oakes at the helm of the team begins with a good resultAlpinewith Pierre Gasly who finished the Dutch Grand Prix in the points zone after a surprising qualifying session on Saturday which ended with a Q3 finish for the French driver. In the race too, Gasly was able to defend his position in the top ten, crossing the finish line in ninth position and bringing home precious points for himself and the team.

Signs of growth

An outcome that satisfies the 28-year-old from Rouen, on a friendly track for the #10 of the French team and even more so in view of the next appointment in Monza, where he achieved his first and so far only victory in F1 in 2020: “The race was a lot of fun and bringing home some points is always a great feeling. – commented the transalpine – I am very happy with the progress we have made as a team from Friday and, in the end, we managed to turn the situation around and be the best team after the top four. At the start, I passed Alonso and Stroll on the outside of Turn 1. This helped our race enormously, because then I had a good track position and could manage the race and look after the tyres. After the pit stop we had to make some overtaking moves and I had confidence in the car to brake and keep a good line on the outside of Turn 1. There were some exciting moves and as a result we took two points. We are continuing to show signs of progress and we hope to continue like this.”

Zandvoort to forget

Enthusiasm for these small steps forward that he does not share instead Esteban Oconwhich with a 15th place rounds off a weekend devoid of satisfaction and high points: “It was a learning weekend, because I came here with different expectations. – he admitted – Overall it was a tough race day and a difficult weekend in general. 15th place was the best I could achieve with the cars in front and the traffic on a track that is difficult for overtaking. It is important for us to understand why we struggled here in particular and where we can improve, which we will do together as a team. On the other hand, there are some positives to take from Zandvoort, where Pierre showed good pace and managed to score useful points for the team. We only have a couple of days to turn the situation around and come back stronger in Monza. I am looking forward to racing there again and seeing what some changes to the track could bring.”