Palmer: Gasly reminded everyone of his talents

By all accounts, the Belgian Grand Prix was not the most exciting race of the season, but that doesn’t mean nothing exciting happened last Sunday. Jolyon Palmer, ex-F1 driver and now an expert on the championship’s official website, drew attention to Pierre Gasly’s outstanding performance.

AlphaTauri had to earn points at Spa as the Italian team had failed to do so in the last five rounds and was pushed back to 8th place in the Constructors’ Championship by Haas F1.

In theory, the task was made easier by the fact that many riders were fined for switching power plants and gearboxes, so they started from distant positions that were unusual for them. This did not affect AlphaTauri, however, after Yuki Tsunoda performed poorly in qualifying, the team decided it would be more appropriate to replace the engine in his car and the Japanese had to start from the pit lane.

All hopes were only aimed at Pierre Gasly, who would start the race in eighth place, but there was a problem: his car had problems with the electricity and he also had to start from the pitlane. However, the Frenchman managed to make a brilliant breakthrough and he became one of the heroes of the race.

When his AT03 was turned back into the team’s pits, it automatically meant that no tactical plan thought out and prepared in advance would work, and the hopes of finishing in the top ten became even more elusive. Moreover, even a few minutes before the start it was unclear whether Gasly could participate in the Grand Prix at all, as the car did not start immediately.

The modern technology of Formula 1 is incredibly complex and it is possible that already on the grid some small malfunctions may suddenly occur that can throw the driver off balance. Usually they can be taken out quickly, so you should try to keep calm and focus on the start and other tasks to be solved at the start of the race.

You can imagine how upset Pierre was when he lost the chance to start from 8th position and it is clear that in this situation the pressure, which was already high, only intensified. When starting from the pitlane it is hardly worth playing on the fact that the race will end well, because in terms of tactics you are of course in a losing position.

However, Gasley and his team did a great job of showing everyone the perfect example of how the right actions allowed them to recoup and get results in a situation where there was nothing to lose.

In the first stint of the race, stuck behind a series of other cars, he suggested the team make an early pit stop to get onto a clear track. On lap 10, Williamas’ Pierre and Alex Albon were the first to make a scheduled pit stop, which allowed both of them to regain several positions later on.

But to a greater extent, the result was influenced by Gasly’s second pit stop on lap 22, and the driver again radioed the team for early tire changes. None of the entrants followed suit for fear that the high degree of rubber degradation would not make it possible to reach the finish line without an additional pit stop.

The driver certainly took a bold decision, but it turned out to be a brilliant tactical move, allowing Pierre Elbon to get ahead of him, as he didn’t go too fast, in addition to stopping everyone behind his Williams. On the straights the FW44 was capable of good speeds and it was not easy to overtake her, but on the lap as a whole Elbon showed far from the best time.

However, AlphaTauri had nothing to lose, so the team decided to take a chance. In its own way, it is curious that at the end of the Grand Prix, Gasly apparently fought the same cars whose drivers would be his direct rivals, starting from his rightful 8th position. That. with Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Ocon, although the Aston Martin and Alpine at Spa were capable of a higher race pace than the AlphaTauri.

Maybe if everything went according to plan i.e. Gasly would have started from the fourth row, he would have moved up into a higher position. But not a fact at all, because in this case he would have followed a different tactic and it is still unknown how events would develop.

As a result, Pierre finished 9th, which was very important as the points earned will give AlphaTauri extra motivation in the second part of the championship. Amid all sorts of talk about which team Gasley could play for in 2023, he reminded everyone of his talents.

After a series of difficult races last weekend, Pierre showed that he is not only capable of driving fast, but also of thinking correctly, making clear decisions under pressure and executing them well. One can only regret that many of his rivals have already received new power plants and that Pierre’s car has remained the same. Most likely this means he will have to have such a replacement in one of the remaining eight races, which will inevitably incur a penalty.