Gasly 'expected' Alpine Monza Q1 elimination amid 'two-second' deficit

Pierre Gasly expected Alpine to fall in Q1 at the Italian Grand Prix as the team has been "two-seconds" off the pace during the Italian Grand Prix weekend.

After taking third place in the Dutch Grand Prix, Gasly fell in the first part of qualifying at Monza, being joined by teammate Esteban Ocon in suffering an early elimination as the duo took 17th and 18th on the grid.

The team's best results in 2023 have been on higher downforce tracks, with Ocon also taking a podium in Monaco, with Gasly keen for the team to use the result as a springboard in future.

Gasly expected Alpine exit

"Unfortunately [while] all weekend I have been happy with the car balance, but we've just been two seconds off the pace the whole time," Gasly told media including RacingNews365.

"We knew coming to Monza that it would be the toughest weekend of the car with all these long straights, and that has clearly been the case.

"So we expected to be out in Q1, but you always have optimism that maybe with the Hard tyre, you can get through, but that is all we had unfortunately.

"[It has been] a difficult weekend.

"I think the Hard tyre was probably worst of all. I was really happy with the car of the Softs, pretty happy on the Medium and with the Hard, corner balance has just been worse and not going in the right direction for us.

"Ultimately, if you look at the GPS, it is very clear on where we are losing [time] and we knew that me maximised everything we could. But the package doesn't suit the layout, and we will have to analyse, review and come up with better solutions for next year."

At Monza, the Alternative Tyre Allocation rules were in force, with drivers forced to use the Hard tyres in the first segment of qualifying.

However, Gasly felt that this was not a problem for the team, with the lack of pace the problem for the Enstone-squad.

"This wasn't the issue at all or a problem, it's just the speed [not being there]," said Gasly.

"That is what we lacked, that's just a fair conclusion.

"We came here knowing our weaknesses, we knew that they would be amplified here. [They were] clearly identified straightaway from FP1, we tried to react and maximise the package that we've got, but it's still not enough.

"As difficult as it can be to take it on the chin, you've got to look at it objectively. It's got to give us direction for next season, in the way that we want to approach this sort of very particular track."

For his part, Ocon, who qualified 0.003s behind Gasly, felt the team maximised its potential, adding that he felt "we could get into Q2 and fight for the top of Q2."