During the GP of the Netherlands, Pierre Gasly managed to finish third on the podium. After a turbulent period, including some management changes, the podium finish is a serious boost for Alpine and Gasly.
Gasly seemed to have to settle for an honorable place of honor, especially when the Frenchman had received a five-second time penalty for driving too fast in the pit lane. However, Gasly drove a very strong race and when Sergio Perez received a similar penalty it meant for Gasly and Alpine that their strong performance was rewarded with a podium finish.
“We have to keep working hard, we have to keep improving the car and keep working like that until the end of the year,” Gasly told ‘Canal+’ after the rain ended. “I am happy that everything is starting to fall into place within the team. We learn to work better and better together. It is going in the right direction and we proved that again today.”
Going too fast in the pit lane was a potentially costly mistake but in terms of strategy, Gasly and Alpine were spot on. After the first lap, Gasly came in with his Alpine for intermediates and that turned out to be crucial.
“We have to make extremely important decisions,” said Gasly. “When I came out of the last corner I immediately understood that there was a great opportunity for us and I asked the team to pit immediately, which paid off.”
“Then we had a car that performed very well, I was able to compete with the Ferrari and stay pretty close to Alonso.”
“A lot of things happened but you had to stay calm. I am very happy with the work of the team and what they have achieved.”
#Alpine #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/X0zLxQxeIc
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) August 27, 2023
PODIUM P3!!!! Lets f****** GO!!!
Had so much fun this afternoon, big congrats to my team!! @AlpineF1Team pic.twitter.com/ZV7WSg8Rfa— PIERRE GASLY (@PierreGASLY) August 27, 2023