AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was frustrated after he encountered brake issues during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
It was announced on Saturday morning that Gasly would be leaving the Red Bull junior side at the end of the season to join Alpine alongside Esteban Ocon.
It will be the first time in the Frenchman’s career that he has raced outside of the Red Bull system, and he is set to be replaced by Nyck de Vries, who impressed in his one-off appearance in Italy last month.
Early on in Q3, both Gasly and team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, reported that they were struggling with their brakes, and the home hero this weekend grew characteristically agitated over the radio.
READ: Pierre Gasly say’s he’ll take Yuki Tsunoda with him to Alpine
“Problem with the brakes. What the f*** is going on?” the Frenchman fumed on the radio
Gasly was sent out of his garage in the middle of a train of cars for his final run in Q1, and a big lock-up into Turn 10 coat him as he was eliminated in P17.
The 26-year-old was audibly upset with his team over the radio, asking them why they had sent Tsunoda out on his own instead.
Tsunoda made it through to the second session, but he too was eliminated in the second session, qualifying 13th for Sunday’s race.
After the session, Gasly explained how his front brakes were affecting him, and how he had not exactly been helped by his team.
“It’s always difficult, the brake issue was there,” he told Sky Sports.
“And we know that if we go in the traffic on the out-lap, we put ourselves more at risk to have it [a brake issue].
“I do believe I asked to be held in the garage slightly longer, and I’ve been put on track straight away in the middle of the traffic.
“And, they waited a bit longer with Yuki, so I don’t fully get why, but for sure, our last attempt went for waste because I had this issue on the front left disc which could not build any temperature.
“And, when I touched the brakes, I was locking this tyre straight away so, yeah, I feel we could have managed the situation a bit better.”
READ: Nyck de Vries agrees deal with AlphaTauri for 2023
Max Verstappen claimed pole for Red Bull, ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
That was despite a mistake on the Dutchman’s second run, but his starting position for Sunday’s race may yet be jeopardised.
The 25-year-old got caught up in an incident with McLaren’s Lando Norris, who have recently left the stewards’ office.