Bahrain — Pierre Gasly believes Alpine is still finding its footing in 2024 after a mixed start to the season, but remains confident the team can fight for points — and had encouraging words for Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda after a challenging home race at Suzuka.

Gasly, speaking ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, addressed the growing perception that qualifying has become more important in modern Formula 1, particularly after a processional race in Japan. “I think this is mainly coming after a Suzuka race, which was pretty dull, let’s say, from a racing point of view,” he said. “But, you know, looking at Melbourne, looking at China, there was still a bit of action. Qualifying has always been important… But this weekend in Bahrain, with the track characteristics, I think we should see a lot more racing. There should be a lot more overtaking possibilities.”

Reflecting on Alpine’s performance so far this season, Gasly was cautiously optimistic. Despite the team showing strong pace in pre-season testing, that has not fully translated into competitive results. “We look stronger in the winter testing than we are at the minute,” he admitted. “Whether it’s others… we’ve been hiding things a bit more in Bahrain at the start of the year, or we lost a bit more performance… at the moment, it’s extremely tight and we’re not at the top of the midfield. But at the same time, it’s not like we are in a position where we can’t challenge.”

He pointed to the fine margins that define the current midfield battle: “Last week we missed Q2 by four hundredths… six and a half tenths off the fastest lap, which some years back would get you into Q3. It just shows that the midfield of the entire grid is extremely tight.”

When asked to assess the car’s strengths and weaknesses, Gasly was candid: “Low-speed performance is one area where we’re maybe more on par with the other cars, not better. Other areas we seem to be slightly better… We need to compromise a bit — some of the load we have — to make our top speed more reasonable.”

Looking ahead to circuits like Miami, where he finished in the top five in 2022, Gasly expressed enthusiasm: “I love Miami. I love Miami for many different reasons than the track itself… It’s not the most exciting for racing, but in terms of driving, it is definitely nice.”

Toward the end of the session, Gasly was asked about former teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s performance at the Japanese Grand Prix. The AlphaTauri driver struggled during the weekend, but Gasly was supportive:

“I think he can do better. I mean, it’s a fast driver’s first race. He’ll have plenty of time, but I know what he’s capable of,” Gasly said.

He went on to explain that setup choices may have hampered Tsunoda’s potential:

“I think he made a setup decision that didn’t really play in his favor. Because I had him for the first time behind me… and let’s say I wasn’t the fastest in the straight, and he wasn’t really catching there, so I’m not sure he really helped himself in terms of setup.”

Despite that, Gasly expressed confidence in Tsunoda’s ability to rebound:

“No, I think he’s definitely going to pick it up over the next few weeks.”

As Alpine seeks to climb further up the standings, Gasly remains measured yet hopeful: “We need to do better. At the end of the day, we need to do better. But the car is in a reasonable place. And we know where we’re strong.”