Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. 08.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 18, Qatar Grand Prix, Doha, Qatar, Race Day.
Pierre Gasly rued energy management issues that contributed to him taking “too many risks” and picking up track limit penalties in the Qatar Grand Prix.
The debate surrounding track limits dominated the Qatar weekend, with the stewards noting 51 offences throughout the course of Sunday’s 57-lap encounter.
Gasly was one of four drivers to be penalised multiple times, serving one five-second penalty at a pit stop before also having 10s added to his time at the end of the race.
Consequently, Gasly was demoted from ninth to 12th, behind both Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll, who were also punished for frequently venturing outside the white lines.
“It wasn’t a good day, I made too many mistakes with these track limits, [and it] cost me 15 seconds,” he admitted.
“So I can only be disappointed with myself because obviously, you’re talking a few centimetres, which is nothing.
“But I paid a big price for it and missed out on the points, so I’ve just got to learn from this.
Gasly had out-qualified team-mate Esteban Ocon by two-tenths as Alpine enjoyed a productive qualifying hour on Friday evening to haul two cars inside the top eight.
However, Gasly’s race began to unravel when he was caught flat-footed by the colliding Mercedes at Turn 1, dropping him behind Ocon and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
But the Frenchman has revealed he was also hampered by engine management problems throughout the race, which inspired him to take more risks with overtaking manoeuvres.
“All in all, it was a tough day. I had a good start but went on the outside and had to slow down with the Mercedes in front of me, so I lost another two positions,” he explained.
“And then after that the whole race we had an energy management issues, which cost me straight-line speed throughout the whole race. I tried to compensate for it and took too many risks, so [ultimately] not a good day from us.”
Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523 on the grid. 08.10.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 18, Qatar Grand Prix, Doha, Qatar, Race Day.
Gasly criticised the FIA’s handling of track limit infringements, claiming that any warnings were directed to him too late by the time they arrived from his engineer.
“It was the story of the whole race,” he bemoaned. “I don’t have any excuses because it’s the same for everyone, and at the end of the day, I took too many obviously.
“I don’t know how many track limits there have been the whole race, but we were always two steps behind from what’s happening, and I think it wasn’t an easy day for us.”
The extreme humidity present during Sunday’s race saw many drivers struggle, including Ocon – who admitted that he vomited in the early exchanges.
However, unlike Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Gasly has not attributed blame to the tough conditions for the spate of penalties he received for exceeding track limits.
“It was the toughest race of the year,” Gasly agreed. “It was clearly very hot in the car, and very physically challenging. I knew it would be like that.
“And I know I’m training really hard, and I have one of the best physical conditions in the paddock. So I usually embrace these conditions.
“And I know it’s challenging for everyone, but today I just didn’t do a good enough job, and I need to learn from this track limits story.”
Keyword: Gasly rues energy management issues forcing ‘risks’ in Qatar GP