Pierre Gasly put in an unbelievable qualifying performance at the Qatar Grand Prix before sudden puncture in the closing minutes in final qualifying, nevertheless the Frenchman lines up in fourth for the Race on Sunday.
It was another excellent Saturday for Gasly, who out-qualified Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez; the Frenchman is in a strong position going into Sunday although did experience a puncture on his final lap in qualifying. Gasly ran wide at Turn 15, damaging his front wing in the process which in return blew his front right tyre. It meant that n one behind him was able to significantly improve, securing Gasly a fourth place start for the race.
Gasly is very happy with qualifying but is aware that their rivals the Alpine F1 Team aren’t too far behind.
“I’m super happy with Qualifying, it’s been pretty amazing and we’re right behind Mercedes and Max again which is great. I was going even faster in the last lap, improving by one and a half tenths, but I went over the kerb at Turn 15 and I lost the front wing, which then blew the front right tyre. At the end of the day, it was still a really strong Qualifying and we’re in a good position for tomorrow. The Alpines are pretty close again, so I think it’ll be another intense battle in the race.”
“I’m happy I will be starting P8” – Yuki Tsunoda
It was double top-ten delight for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda, with Yuki Tsunoda qualifying an excellent eighth place at the Losail International Circuit. Both Tsunoda and Gasly will start on the soft compound tyre for Sunday’s race, putting them on a more attacking strategy than those around them.
The rookie is pleased with his starting position, especially as the Japanese driver predicts that overtaking will be very difficult.
“I think today was a good Qualifying and I’m happy that I will be starting from P8 tomorrow. It was unfortunate that I had to sacrifice an additional set of Softs to get through Q1, which meant I didn’t have them for Q3, but I’m still really pleased with how today went.
“We think it’s going to be difficult to overtake in the race, so the start will be key, but the positive is that we’re all in the same position, as no one has driven here before. We’ll prepare for this as well as we can tonight, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
