F1 Dutch Grand Prix: Pierre Gasly on his Podium Finish for Alpine Says 'It Just Got Me Very Excited'
Pierre Gasly finished in fourth place, but after a five-second time penalty was issued to Sergio Perez for speeding in the pit lane, Gasly moved up to third. Despite the challenging conditions, he managed to advance his position and actively engage with the leading contenders.
By Divyam Dubey
As a result of Sergio Perez's five-second time penalty at Zandvoort, Gasly finished third in a chaotic, rain-soaked race. Due to Gasly's third-place finish in the Belgian sprint race, Alpine now has two consecutive top-three finishes. There is no doubt that this pair of important outcomes comes at a time when Enstone sports director Alan Permane, who spent 34 years with the team, and team principal Otmar Szafnauer have left the team. Gasly was among a group of seven drivers who promptly opted to switch to intermediate tyres at the conclusion of the first lap. In the end, it was a wise decision that changed the race's outcome. When the chaos settled after the first 5 laps, he was racing in fifth place. Despite receiving a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, he passed Sainz and stayed close enough to Perez to pass the Mexican when the latter had a similar penalty late in the race.
F1 Dutch Grand Prix: Gasly's Podium Finish at Zandvoort
Gasly began the race on Sunday in 12th place, but he took advantage of the difficult circumstances and moved up to challenge for the lead after switching to intermediate tyres early when rain fell on the opening lap. Gasly finished third after Sergio Perez's five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, after teammate Esteban Ocon's podium in Monaco and Sprint podium in Belgium.
On his podium finish, Gasly said, “It feels good! I must say, it feels good. Especially at the start of the season, I felt like we were pretty unfortunate on a number of occasions and we were like, ‘Okay, there’s nothing we can do, just keep pushing, focusing on ourselves and improve what we can and what we have in our hands’.
He further said, "It was an insane race, so much action, so many tough calls to make but everything went well, from the decision-making to the strategy to the pit-stops, it was all very well executed. We had the unfortunate five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but in the end, that did not matter as we still had enough pace to put ourselves in contention for a good result. It was a tough final few laps with the conditions, but we managed it very well. Thanks to the entire team for his podium, and let’s keep up the hard work looking ahead to next weekend’s race in Monza; where I have fond memories!"
“Fifteen points feel good and also for the whole team, it’s a massive motivation boost after the top three in the Sprint in Spa, and straight away we get a podium, so I’m very pleased for all the guys,” he added.
Alpine departs from the Netherlands with a sixth-place position in the constructors' standings, but Gasly has moved up to the tenth spot in the drivers' championship, surpassing his teammate Ocon by one position and one point.
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F1: Constructors Battel
Now that we've entered the second half of the Formula 1 season, the struggle for second place in both the drivers' and manufacturers' standings promises to be fierce. Red Bull has so far this season won 12 of the 12 races. Ten of the races have been won by Max Verstappen. In the other two, teammate Sergio Perez won. The Austrian squad is unbeatable, and when partnered with the Dutchman, they become an unstoppable force. When compared to the competition, the RB19 is light years ahead.
It seems like Red Bull will win their second consecutive constructors' championship. Despite this, the fight in the background is captivating. Competing for second place are Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and even McLaren. McLaren has outstanding speed on most tracks but must recover from a significant points deficit. In Zandvoort, the weather played a crucial role. As a result of Pierre Gasly's third-place finish, Alpine earned 16 points, but it is one of five teams that no longer can win the World Cup mathematically.
