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Pierre Gasly and Alpha Tauri part ways after a difficult season. The reasons behind the fall of Red Bull’s sister team are manifold. Gasly tries to explain what caused the successes to fail.
Gasly’s final season with AlphaTauri
2022 was a challenging year for AlphaTauri. They slipped from sixth to ninth in the constructors’ championship, and setbacks marked the season.
You try to keep the team energised and in good spirits as a driver.
Gasly explained to Auto Motor und Sport how he tried to motivate his team:
“My job was to fill them with energy, keep them motivated, and light the spark. It was a long season. Everyone was drained and tired. Then when you don’t have a great year, it drags you down even more. But at that moment, people have to perform more than ever to pull the momentum back to your side.
“So that was a very different challenge for me than 2021, which I still had to learn as a driver myself. That was interesting.”
In 2021 Gasly finished the season with 110 points. In 2022 it was just 23 points. Gasly continues to reflect:
“I wished I didn’t have to go through that. But I see the positive in it. In those moments, you really dig everywhere to make little differences. We didn’t have any leeway. Even on our best days, sometimes it wasn’t enough to make it into the top 10.
“In this situation, you must ensure you are always awake and take opportunities when the others are weakening. You can’t leave anything behind yourself. Unfortunately, that has been the case this season.”
Frustration in the team
Especially in the last races of the season, the team’s tone seemed rougher and rougher. The frustration was palpable. Gasly recalls:
“It’s the fact that it gets to me personally when we try to do the best we can and get set back by something like the brake problems. Our goal is to do everything perfectly. When you’re in a complicated situation anyway, the last thing you need is for the brakes to give you problems as well—or other things.
“At the end of the day, it was more frustration that we didn’t perform at the same level as 2021.”
Gasly – despite moving to a rival team – believes AlphaTauri can return to full strength. He also praises his former teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
“They have what it takes to race in the upper midfield. Just like we did in 2021. That’s when we had the car to be fifth in the world championship. It was Yuki’s [Tsunoda] first season in Formula 1 at that time. If it had been his second, and he had delivered the performance of 2022, we would have been fifth for sure. That’s why I see the potential.
“The people are there. The structures are there. The changes to the regulations – with the budget cap and the staggered wind tunnel times – should help the midfield teams. So I see no reason why Alpha Tauri shouldn’t be fighting in the upper midfield.”
We are curious to see how Nyck de Vries will do as a rookie to Formula 1 and AlphaTauri. Can he replace a strong Gasly?
Feature Image Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli via Getty Images