‘Triple’ in the points zone
After the second free practice session of the Japanese GP, Pierre Gasly had perfectly calculated what the evolution of qualifying could be despite his 14th place: “only a couple of tenths separate 7th position from 15th”. Not surprisingly, the Frenchman secured his place on the fourth row, then finished the race in 7th place.
Read more Stella: “We leave Suzuka encouraged, but we must improve the performance of our chassis”
A result that confirms the excellent form for the Alpine driver, who since the start of this season has always achieved points finishes, with the sole exception of the Sprint in China: “It was a really intense race from start to finish, and I am very happy with seventh place and the points earned for the championship – commented the Frenchman – it was a very good race and well managed by the team. It was as if there were two different phases before and after the Safety Car. Considering what we have seen so far this season, the races have been quite eventful, so we probably expected a Safety Car or a Virtual Safety Car at some point. In the first part of the race we were building a good lead over the cars behind. Then, after the Safety Car, we had to defend against Max [Verstappen] who put a lot of pressure on us for 25 laps. We had to defend a lot and it’s not easy against a four-time world champion, so I’m glad we managed to hold the position and score important points. It was a positive weekend for the team and we are not too far from some of the faster teams ahead of us. The car has a solid base, so we must stay motivated and continue to work hard to catch up with those ahead of us.”
Colapinto-Bearman: the accident
Outside the top-10, however, was his teammate Franco Colapinto. More than for his final 16th place, the Argentine ended up at the center of strong controversy for the maneuver that caused Oliver Bearman’s violent impact against the barriers, who got out of the car with a knee contusion despite the 50G crash against the protections. Near the Spoon curve, Colapinto slowed down significantly, suddenly moving to the left, just as the Englishman’s Haas was approaching at 80 km/h more speed. Bearman managed to avoid the Alpine in time, but ended up on the grass and completely lost control of the car: “It was a very long and frustrating race today, where we spent a lot of time staring at the rear wing of another car. We had a great start and gained a position on the first lap, running close to both VCARBs and within reach of the points. We reacted and pitted to cover Ollie [Bearman] and managed to stay ahead. I was racing with him for a few laps and suddenly I saw him slide in front of me on the grass at Spoon curve. After seeing the footage, there was a big difference in speed, which can be a characteristic of these cars, and I’m really glad he’s okay. The Safety Car came out later, which was bad timing for us and meant we lost positions. It’s a shame, because we were in the mix with Liam [Lawson] and others before then, and those I was fighting with at that time finished in the points. Ultimately, we need to have a stronger Saturday to put ourselves in a better position to race. Now we will use the break in the season to work hard at Enstone and come back stronger in Miami.”
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