Pierre Gasly has blamed the collision that took him out of the Monaco Grand Prix on his former Formulation 1 team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, claiming the latter moved below braking.
Tsunoda and Gasly had been operating seventeenth and 18th – after making their first necessary pitstop as early as lap 1 – when the Alpine driver attacked his Crimson Bull peer on the chicane.
Gasly violently crashed into Tsunoda, with the TV broadcast that includes a “no brakes” radio message. Nevertheless, the Frenchman has clarified that this remark was taken out of context.
“I had the brakes,” he insisted. “Yuki made a mistake earlier than the tunnel, so I bought very near him.
“Each lap he was braking on the racing line on the precise. This lap I used to be very shut, so I made a decision to remain on the left. He began braking on the left, I dedicated to the precise after which he moved again onto the racing line. I used to be already committing and braking later than him, so I simply could not go wherever.
“For me, right here, you have to persist with your line. You have already got no area to place two automobiles collectively. You may defend the place, however then it isn’t a case of ‘I am going proper, I shut the door to the precise after which when you attempt to go left, I squeeze you to the left as properly’. It is a monitor the place it is already arduous sufficient. I simply thought, ‘he’ll go away the area’.
“I am positive we’ll chat about it, however I do not assume it was his best second.”
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Photographs by way of Getty Photographs
Nevertheless, when Gasly’s feedback had been put to the Japanese racer – rephrased as “erratic driving” – an astonished Tsunoda exclaimed: “What? I do not assume I did something mistaken.
“I might do the identical if I had another time – as a result of I used to be hugging the wall on a regular basis. I knew he would attempt to overtake, and I did not need to transfer below braking.”
Regardless, it was one more troublesome weekend for Alpine, which suffered its worst qualifying session of the season with Gasly in 18th and team-mate Franco Colapinto final; the Argentine took thirteenth place within the race.
Gasly nonetheless anticipated the Monte Carlo monitor to not swimsuit Alpine’s A525 automobile.
“For me, it is primarily about understanding what did not actually work in qualifying, which I feel we have already got some concepts [about] – however we additionally know this monitor would all the time spotlight some weaknesses of the automobile when it comes to journey,” he identified.
“The journey usually, we all know, just isn’t the power of our automobile. It is on a monitor like this the place you are going very low pace, you go over kerbs, you are three-wheeling in lots of locations. We’re simply missing compliance in the meanwhile.”
Gasly expects a a lot better displaying this weekend on the Spanish Grand Prix, on a diametrically opposed structure the place Alpine bought each automobiles in Q3 and in points-paying positions final yr.
Learn Additionally:
“I feel Barcelona needs to be higher. It is extra high-speed corners. It is a smoother monitor floor, so I feel it needs to be higher.”
On this article
Ben Vinel
Formulation 1
Pierre Gasly
Yuki Tsunoda
Crimson Bull Racing
Alpine
Be the primary to know and subscribe for real-time information electronic mail updates on these subjects
Subscribe to information alerts
