Scuderia AlphaTauri endured a difficult day as Frenchman Pierre Gasly narrowly missed out on points finish as he secured 11th place, while Japanese team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was forced to retire after being hit by McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo.
Pierre Gasly
It’s a real shame, but we knew it would be difficult starting from P14. I gave everything I could today, and we were close to finishing in the top 10; if we’d had one more lap, I think we could’ve been in it. The atmosphere has been insane, as always in Mexico, so that’s been great. I’m just disappointed we’ve come away without points.
Yuki Tsunoda
It’s such a shame about today’s result. My tyre management had been excellent in the race up until that point, and I was feeling confident in that final stint, so I’m very disappointed that it ended with such a silly mistake. Daniel was on a different strategy and would’ve easily made it past later on, so for such an experienced driver to try to overtake in an area that it’s just not possible to is so annoying. We were close to being able to finish in the points, which are so valuable to us right now. There are some positives to take away from this weekend, but for now, I just need to go away and reset, then come back stronger for Brazil.
Claudio Balestri – Chief Engineer – Vehicle Performance
As our two cars were close together on the grid today, we decided to start with different compounds, aiming to maximise the possibility of scoring points. Yuki started on new Softs and immediately gained some positions in the first lap. He was P11 between the two McLarens on Mediums, with Norris in front and Riccardo behind. Yuki’s first stint was good; he produced consistent lap times and managed tyre and brake temperatures, and the tyres were working properly for the entire stint. For the rest of his race, he continued to fight the two McLarens, so in the second stint, we decided to fit Mediums, and the pace was again good, allowing him to follow Norris and stay in front of Ricciardo. However, Ricciardo tried to overtake Yuki, destroying our car and race. The contact left Yuki’s car with a lot of damage, and we had to retire. Pierre’s race was a bit different. By the end of lap one, he had lost some positions and was P17, racing on the Mediums behind the two Astons that were slower than him.
During the first stint, Pierre was able to gain one position, overtaking Stroll, who was on the same compound, but during this manoeuvre, he got a five-second penalty. This was served at our second pit stop, and our race became a bit more complicated. When he re-joined the track, he was behind Albon. Pierre’s pace with the soft compound was good, and we could overtake him and close the gap with the cars in front, who were on different strategies. Pierre finished just behind Bottas, just outside the points in P11. It is a shame because the pace wasn’t bad today. Now we need to switch our thoughts to the preparation for our next race in Brazil.
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