Gasly: 'I was fastest after top four teams, then McLaren came'

Pierre Gasly seems to be the only addition in recent times amidst the exodus of key players at Alpine. The Frenchman says he is not yet at his full potential at the team and is annoyed that McLaren has passed the team in the last few races.

Gasly is not quite at the level at Alpine yet

In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Gasly says he is still in a learning process at the F1 team he joined in 2023. Gasly: "Not in every area, but in specific areas and in terms of communication, yes. I wish I was already at 100 per cent, but that will take some time." Gasly says he does not yet fully understand the way the team communicates: "Sometimes we still talk past each other about what I want from the car and what they can give me."

Gasly hopes to control the car better by the end of the year. The build-up of the current car lacks important pieces for Gasly: "This Alpine is an evolution of the car Esteban [Ocon] and Fernando [Alonso] drove last year. I had no input."

McLaren makes it almost impossible for Gasly to score points

Still, Gasly is not doing badly. The Frenchman has 22 points behind his name and achieved a third place finish in the last GP weekend in Belgium during the sprint race. Gasly also seems happy with his start to the season but is less happy with his performance since Monaco. Gasly: "In terms of race pace, I was always the best apart from the top four teams until McLaren joined. They obviously made a big step forward, seven-tenths compared to the start of the season. Then we can't take P8 or P9 anymore."

Gasly came in at the beginning of 2023 at the team whose four key players have since left. The Frenchman can say little about the departures of Laurent Rossi, Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and Pat Fry. Gasly: "It's been a turbulent few weeks. It's a bit difficult for me to say anything about that. Integrating into a team is a big step. I met them all in the factory and they did their best for the team."