Pierre Gasly explains critical spin that cost Piastri and Verstappen
Pierre Gasly took a trip through the gravel that cost several drivers a flying lap in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly lost control during his final push lap in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, which threw the laps of several other drivers into jeopardy.
After the session, Gasly explained what went wrong and why he’s “not happy about it.”
Pierre Gasly responds to Austrian GP Q3 spin
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
The front row of the Austrian Grand Prix may have looked a little different had it not been for a last-minute spin during qualifying.
All 10 drivers in the final qualifying session had set an initial fast lap and were coming through to complete their second when a brief yellow flag popped out in the last corner of the Red Bull Ring.
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly had spun into the gravel. While the Frenchman was able to save his car from hitting the wall or getting beached in the gravel trap, the move triggered a local yellow just as several other drivers were coming around to take the chequered flag.
Critically, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were two of the men who felt that they could have challenged for pole position — or, at the very least, a front row — had their laps been unimpeded. As it stands, Piastri will line up third on the grid, just behind team-mate Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen will start from seventh.
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To explain the incident, Gasly told media, including PlanetF1.com, that “I think I was pushing a lot, and I did a mistake.
“I felt like I had a bit of time to get in that last corner after my lap in Q2 and, yeah, I went for it.
“Unfortunately, when I turned in, I didn’t manage to rotate the car the way I wanted. So I didn’t get the apex the way I wanted and went on power, tried to turn the car, and eventually it didn’t go the way I wanted. Not happy about it.”
Still, the fact that he made it to Q3 alone meant that he was “still happy about the rest of qualifying, because after all the free practices, we didn’t look in a very strong place, and Q1 and Q2 we really managed to put some strong laps together.
“So actually, still some positives I think.
“Ultimately I think I was pushing very hard to get there, and it cost me at the end.”
Asked if he could pinpoint where he felt he could have qualified had he managed to secure the lap without spinning, Gasly said he felt he’d have been tied with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, who qualified sixth.
Still, there’s hope coming into the Grand Prix on Sunday.
“We know our best races this year are whenever we got a Q3,” Gasly said of his expectations.
“We know Sundays are usually a bit harder for us with the deg, but when you start in the top 10, it’s more about making the right call for the strategy and fighting the couple of cars around you, rather than having to make a lot of ground.
“I think we’re definitely in a good position, and excited to see what we can get tomorrow.”
Pierre Gasly will line up 10th on the grid heading into Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Read next: Austrian GP: Norris on pole as Max Verstappen blasts ‘naughty’ Lewis Hamilton
