20/11/2021
NEWS STORY
Pierre Gasly: "I'm super happy with Qualifying, it's been pretty amazing and we're right behind Mercedes and Max again which is great. I was going even faster in the last lap, improving by one and a half tenths, but I went over the kerb at Turn 15 and I lost the front wing, which then blew the front right tyre. At the end of the day, it was still a really strong Qualifying and we're in a good position for tomorrow. The Alpines are pretty close again, so I think it'll be another intense battle in the race."
Yuki Tsunoda: "I think today was a good Qualifying and I'm happy that I will be starting from P8 tomorrow. It was unfortunate that I had to sacrifice an additional set of Softs to get through Q1, which meant I didn't have them for Q3, but I'm still really pleased with how today went. We think it's going to be difficult to overtake in the race, so the start will be key, but the positive is that we're all in the same position, as no one has driven here before. We'll prepare for this as well as we can tonight, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."
Jody Egginton (Technical Director): "The solid performance yesterday and the hard work put in by the engineers, mechanics and drivers overnight has provided another good step forward today. Both drivers have fully exploited this in what was a tight Qualifying today, resulting in very good grid positions for tomorrow's race. Yuki has performed well here in Qatar, putting in a great Qualifying tonight and getting himself well into the top 10, which is positive. Pierre has been very strong and consistent in every session so far, carrying this form into Qualifying to secure a very well deserved fourth, which is especially pleasing as getting the car into the right window at a new track can be far from straightforward. The front wing damage sustained by Pierre over the kerbs was unfortunate, as the lap was shaping up to be a good step quicker than his previous. It is something we will review to understand the various factors involved, but as we have seen with some other competitors so far here in Qatar the kerbs in the highspeed corners are a real consideration here. With the battle for fifth in the Constructors' Championship being super close, and Alpine also getting both cars into Q3 here, we are expecting a tight race tomorrow, but are looking forward to the challenge."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Qatar, here.