Gasly targets to repeat Las Vegas performance in next weekend's Qatar race
On the back of his sensational performance in Friday's qualifying session at Las Vegas, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly was forced to retire from the action due to a power unit issue.
After his sensational podium finish in Brazil, Pierre Gasly displayed a surprise performance in the qualifying session at the Las Vegas Grand prix to secure third place on the grid for Saturday's race.
However, his race ended prematurely, when disaster struck for Gasly, who let out a cry of “no power” while smoke exited the rear of his car. The reliability issue meant that the Frenchman was forced to return to the pit lane and park up outside the Alpine garage – dealing a blow to their constructors’ efforts.
Commenting on his short race, Gasly said: “It’s a very disappointing feeling today for all of us in the team. After the high of yesterday with our Qualifying performance and strong grid position, today is a tough one to take.
"We knew the race would be challenging but, in the end, we weren’t able to truly show our potential after an issue with the car forced us to retire. We will learn from this and aim to carry our pace into Qatar next weekend. There is a lot to play for and we will do our best to come back stronger.
"Congratulations to Max [Verstappen] on winning the title. He has been driving at an incredible level all season and he thoroughly deserves this achievement.”
His team-mate Esteban Ocon started from P11 on a set of new mediums, pitted for a new hards on Lap 12 before visiting the pits for a set of new softs on Lap 45.
Having finished the race in P17, the French driver commented: “It was not our race today and we finished outside the points. We need to review what happened at our first pit-stop as it meant we effectively did a drive through the pit lane.
"It is a pity and we need to come back from this. We did not take the opportunity today where I was confident of at least being in the fight for points.
"We will review everything and aim to do better in Qatar next time out. Finally, congratulations to Max [Verstappen] on winning his fourth world title. I’m very happy for him, he deserves it as he’s done an amazing job all season.”
Alpine's team boss Oliver Oakes commented: “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for today. A Power Unit issue brought an early end to Pierre’s race. With Esteban, a mistake with his first stop meant he had to stop twice. We need to put this weekend behind us.
"The pace we showed yesterday, and in the race, underlines the positive improvements we have made in recent weeks and gives us reason to be optimistic heading into the final two races. Also, well done to Max [Verstappen] for winning the Championship for a fourth time – an amazing achievement," commented Oakes.
