Pierre Gasly candidly discussed his 2022 season with the AlphaTauri team. Among other things, he spoke about the higher expectations he had prior to the season and the challenges he and his team faced. Next season, the Frenchman will compete for Alpine alongside compatriot Esteban Ocon.

The Frenchman finished ninth with 110 points in 2021, but last season he could only manage 14th in the standings with 23 points. He only scored points on six race weekend, making it a disappointing year despite more expectation.

"I was very much looking forward to this big rule change. We had an excellent 2021 and so our expectations and ambitions were high," the Frenchman said in conversation with Auto Motor und Sport.

"The changes were supposed to bring the field closer together. Unfortunately, it was a very difficult year for us. Probably the most difficult ever, or similar to 2018, when I joined the team and the performance was not there at that time."

Challenges

Formula 1 teams faced many new challenges in 2022. For instance, understanding a new concept based on the new regulations was difficult, but the consequences of the budget cap were also around the corner for the 10 race teams.

The Frenchman continued: "This had serious consequences for the way we could work and develop." Consequently, according to Gasly, it took five races to get a better picture of performance.

Initially, Gasly still thought things could be fine. He had once factored in that the season would be a development race and was optimistic about improving the development curve. In the process, AlphaTauri also had too many problems with the car and, according to Gasly, that delayed development. "We had shortcomings in efficiency and aerodynamics. We were driving with too much drag for the downforce generated by the vehicle."