Gasly: "Expected us to be slightly closer"

Pierre Gasly competed for Alpha Tauri in recent years, but the Frenchman seems to have made the move to Alpine at the right time. Before Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda are still pointless at his former employer, Gasly has finished in the points every time so far this season. The 27-year-old driver is satisfied with the start of the season, although he might have hoped for something more.

In both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Gasly finished ninth. At the winter tests, it seemed Alpine had missed the mark, but the French formation is firmly in the middle of the pack. The team led by team boss Otmar Szafnauer currently appears to be the fifth team behind Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari.

Work to do for Alpine

Last season, Alpine finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship, so they have lost some ground. Gasly sees a big gap towards the top. "I expected us to be slightly closer to the guys ahead. We were in sort of in no-man’s land behind the Ferraris and in front of the guy in P10 behind us. We definitely want more, so we have to work," he is quoted by Formula 1's official website as saying.

For Gasly himself, it also takes some getting used to. After two Grands Prix, he is already reasonably used to it, but he does not yet know how to get the most out of the car. "And on my side, there was times in the weekend where I felt a bit better with the car, some other times where I struggled a bit more. We will analyse everything, second race with the team, so slowly we will get to where we want to be."