Pierre Gasly makes remarkable 'different league' Alpine claim

Pierre Gasly has described the mission he set himself in the Chinese GP for his "different league" Alpine F1 team. 

After a difficult weekend in Australia for the team, Gasly [who finished 10th in Melbourne] and team-mate Franco Colapinto scored points in Shanghai, the first time both Enstone drivers have done so since Esteban Ocon and Gasly finished two-three in the 2024 São Paulo GP. 

In a dry grand prix, it was the first time the team had done so since a nine-10 result at the 2024 Spanish GP, with the nine points moving the freshly powered Mercedes team into seventh in the constructors' standings, with 10 points after two races, and one Sprint.

Last season, it took the team until round nine to reach double figures.

Recounting his race, Gasly described how he set himself a target of catching Haas driver Oliver Bearman for fifth place in the closing stages, only to fall agonisingly short and having to settle for sixth.

"Looking at where we were in 2025 and where we are now, it is a completely different league," Gasly told the media, including RacingNews365.

"I was very pleased with the job we did in qualifying, a couple of tenths behind the McLaren [of Lando Norris], and in the first stint, I wasn't losing massive ground to Ferrari, but there are still many little things we need to fine-tune and fix, not unfixable limitations. 

"China was special, and hopefully, the performance will be quite similar to here in the coming races."

Gasly not content

Despite Alpine's result at the Shanghai International Circuit, Gasly was far from satisfied.

"Deep inside me, the very competitive Pierre is a little bit annoyed not to get P5, because I felt really comfortable in fifth before the [Lance Stroll] safety car and was pulling away," he recalled. 

"I was getting too carried away because I know with these new cars and these races, it is not about whether there is going to be a safety car, but when is there going to be a safety car?

"It eventually happened, and bunched up the whole field, but at the restart, I didn't have the power out of the last corner, so Ollie passed me very easily, and then mid-race, the fighting with the Haas [of Esteban Ocon], with Max [Verstappen], I lost ground on Bearman.

"Once I cleared all of them, I was five seconds behind Max and eight seconds behind Bearman, and it was quali lap after quali lap, so it was really enjoyable. 

"I put in my mind: 'I am catching him no matter what', and in the end, I just came short by two seconds, but it was still a very good day for the team."