Pierre Gasly has celebrated AlphaTauri's big step forward at the Monaco Grand Prix after a Friday spent pushing his car to the very limit. The Frenchman admitted to having made contact with the wall during Free Practice 2 as he left nothing on the table during Soft tyre runs. His reward was a lap good enough to leave him seventh fastest behind only drivers from Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren.
AlphaTauri progress leaves Gasly "very happy"
The result seems to represent progress for AlphaTauri, who are currently seventh in the Constructors' Standings. They are yet to score a double points finish in 2022 but, with Yuki Tsunoda tenth fastest on Friday, now stand a good chance of ending that run this weekend. "I'm really, really happy in terms of performance," Gasly said. "We were definitely always on top of the midfield, so that’s really positive. Obviously, we are working quite hard at the wheel but it’s as you would expect in Monaco. "So far we have shown a lot of positives. I managed to do clean laps, put things together and be competitive. "I would still not say I am feeling 100 per cent comfortable because I touched the wall a couple of times here and there trying to find the limit but, overall, I'm pretty pleased and we'll try and do a step forward again for tomorrow."
Gasly concerned clean qualifying laps may be hard to find
One concern for Gasly heading into qualifying day is that drivers may find themselves unable to get a clean lap in, with all 20 cars – now bigger and heavier than ever – fighting for position on the narrow Monte Carlo streets. "We will have to try to find the right spot. It's a short track, a lot of cars and competitive drivers who try to find the best position on a very tiny track," continued Gasly. "For sure, it’s not going to be easy. We have the pace to go through to Q2, for sure, this weekend and we just need to keep it clean, not do any mistakes or be involved in any silly situations and we’ll focus on that tomorrow.”
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