Scuderia AlphaTauri enjoyed a strong race as French driver Pierre Gasly finished ninth in his 100th Grands Prix, while Japanese team-mate Yuki Tsunoda passed Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu on the last lap to finish in 13th.
Pierre Gasly
It’s been an amazing race, it’s my 100th race today, so it’s a special one. I’m really surprised with how we’ve finished, after having to start from the pitlane to come back home in the top 10 is pretty incredible, so we should be happy with that today. We were obviously lined up in P8 on the grid, but had an issue and had to return to the garage, luckily we got the car started, and were able to begin the race from the pitlane. The car isn’t quite where we want it to be yet, we’ve still got some areas we need to work on, but I’m pleased we managed to be back scoring points again today.
Yuki Tsunoda
Starting from the pitlane was always going to be tough, but I think the pace was strong today and we had a good strategy, being able to make our way forward during the race. Unfortunately, we lost quite a lot of time in the pitstops and then I got stuck in a DRS train, but I’m pretty happy with how I drove today and how the car felt. Hopefully, we can maintain the performance we’ve found this weekend in the Netherlands, alongside a clean race weekend, and aim once again for the points.
Jody Egginton (Technical Director)
Today’s race has been quite eventful. Pierre’s car had an issue on the grid, meaning it had to be returned to the garage and start from the pitlane alongside Yuki, who was already committed to a pitlane start. Once the race was underway, both drivers got down to the task of trying to move forward. Yuki put in some very solid stints to move towards the points, but ultimately was bottled up in the train of cars behind Albon and was not able to quite get into the points, which is disappointing as Yuki ran a good race here in Spa. With Pierre, the gamble to run a shorter middle stint, and extending the last, was risky as it required a further step of tyre management, but it worked. This allowed him to escape the train behind and come home in a very solid ninth place. To be back to scoring points is very welcome, but we are still making it harder than it needs to be, so there is still plenty of topics to focus on ahead of next week’s race.
Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:
- SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 25: Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri looks on in the Paddock during previews ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Belgian GP at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 25, 2022 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)
- SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 26: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 leaves the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 26, 2022 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
- SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 26: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Scuderia AlphaTauri during practice ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Belgian GP at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 26, 2022 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)
- SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 27: 19th place qualifier Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri walks in the Pitlane during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 27, 2022 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)
- SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 28: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 28, 2022 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
- SPA, BELGIUM – AUGUST 28: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 leads Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03 during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 28, 2022 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)
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