This weekend’s British Grand Prix may not fill Pierre Gasly with hope after his admission about AlphaTauri’s strengths and weaknesses this year.
The order has been shuffled as a result of the new technical regulations introduced at the start of this season, and the Faenza-based team are currently seventh in the Constructors’ Standings.
Truth be told, their results have not really set the world alight just yet, although Gasly’s tremendous performance in Baku, where he qualified sixth and finished fifth, was an example of the pace that does exist within the Italian team’s car; they just need to find it more frequently.
Along with long straights, there are some awkward 90-degree corners and heavy breaking zones in Azerbaijan, so the Red Bull junior side were fairly strong there.
The Frenchman had been looking good all weekend in Monaco before a red flag caused by team-mate Yuki Tsunoda saw him eliminated in Q1, and he managed to pull himself back to 12th from 17th on race day.
Go to a circuit like Silverstone though, where the circus heads to this weekend, and you will find a lot of high-speed turns, something which Gasly does not believe suits his car.
“Slow corners are our friend, fast corners are our enemy,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.
A good thing to have at the start of a new regulatory period is a good base on the floor and chassis that enables the team to be flexible with the upgrades they put on the car, and technical director Jody Egginton has previously described this year’s AlphaTauri car as having just that.
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As a result, Gasly hopes to see some upgrades in the coming races can make a difference to their pace in the high-speed stuff.
“The only thing that will help is an upgrade that eliminates our weak points,” he explained.
“That’s why it’s all the more important that all processes work perfectly.
“In Baku we showed that we can be the fourth fastest team if we do everything right. It just has to be good everywhere.
“You can’t control bad luck, but mistakes [you] can.”
Gasly is currently 11th in the Drivers’ Standings after nine rounds of the season on 16 points, five points and four positions ahead of Tsunoda.