Pierre Gasly enjoyed 'playing' Max Verstappen as Alpine truth emerges

Pierre Gasly has explained his delight at being able to "play" with Max Verstappen in the Japanese GP - on a major weekend for Alpine.

Gasly qualified seventh fastest at Suzuka, behind only the cars from Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, and was ahead of both Red Bulls.

In the race, he held off Verstappen, who was within one second, for most of the race to bank seventh place, finishing just 7.303s behind the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton for Alpine's best result in Japan since Esteban Ocon was fourth in 2022.

After fighting with Verstappen and with Hamilton just about in sight at the flag, a delighted Gasly reflected how it was a major statement for the Enstone team, which is enjoying a resurgence in performance with its new Mercedes engine. 

"It was a perfect weekend because seventh in qualifying and the race was the best position we could get, and the top six was out of reach," Gasly told media, including RacingNews365. 

"We only finished seven seconds behind Lewis, which for me is a positive sign and then 19 seconds in front of Liam [Lawson] in P9, so we were clearly more with the better group.

"It was a pretty intense race, we all know Max is never giving up, and for 28 laps, he was putting a lot of pressure, and we were strong in different parts of the lap, so it made my life not too easy every single lap coming into the final chicane, and making sure into Turn 1 and then checking the gaps after the first sector. 

"I got to play a bit and be smart with my battery, but it was pretty intense. 

"It is not every single weekend I have the chance to fight with a four-time world champion, and I'm glad to be in the position to do it with him.

"It was just that extra pressure, there is more at stake, and you know who you are fighting against, and I know I also get the best out of myself in this type of moment. 

"I'm very pleased with the race, and we're a lot faster than any other car in the midfield."