After the fiasco of the basketball players at the World Cup, badly eliminated after two games, and the catastrophic record of the French athletics team at the World Championships in Budapest, we did not see a living soul on the horizon and who can save the tricolor honor internationally this weekend. But it was without counting on Pierre Gasly, who offered himself a magnificent podium (3rd place) during the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, under an incredible deluge in the small coastal town of Zandvoort.
A third place with the taste of victory for an Alpine team in total trouble since the start of the season. “We did not necessarily imagine being able to fight for the podium but this is new proof that anything can happen in Formula 1”, declared the Frenchman, all smiles, at the microphone of Canal + after the race. It was a race with a lot of twists and turns, very complicated, with changing conditions in the rain, on the fat and on the dry: we really had it all. Very important strategic choices had to be made. »
A strategy that paid off under the deluge of Zandvoort
Indeed, it was on the race strategy that Pierre Gasly was able to pull out of the game from the first seconds of the race, when a first (big) storm broke out in the Dutch sky. The Frenchman did not hesitate and chose, from the penultimate corner, during the first lap, to return to the pits to switch to intermediate tyres. A paying choice in view of the other drivers, including Charles Leclerc, who announced that he was going to pit at the last moment and surprised his team, who were unable to prepare the new tires in time.
“Coming out of the last corner on the first lap, I immediately understood that there was a big opportunity for us so I asked the team to pit directly and it paid off. We had a car that was going well today, I managed to fight with the Ferrari (of Sainz) and to stay not very far from Alonso (2nd behind Verstappen). “While the former Red Bull driver seemed to be satisfied with a good fourth place, after dropping off Carlos Sainz at the nearest motorway service area, a second downpour, even more violent than the first, gave him the opportunity to take one last gamble.
Alpine forgets its worries a little
Well helped by two faults from Sergio Perez, then in 3rd position (a failed braking at the first corner and a penalty for speeding in the pits), the Frenchman succeeded brilliantly in containing the Mexican’s Red Bull until the end. “I knew how he felt because I experienced it shortly before (Gasly will also be penalized 5 seconds for speeding in the pits) but it’s never easy to stay within five seconds of a Red Bull,” he said after the race, finally managing to overtake Perez after the red flag intervened seven laps from the finish.
“Today I had my biggest pleasure behind the wheel of the whole season, it was exciting to fight for these places. We had a lot of bad luck (since the start of the season). It was frustrating but you had to keep your nerves to keep trying. And today it pays off. It’s a great way to pick up after the break,” enthused Galsy. This will not erase the pitiful first part of the season, but it should at least allow the French team to heal its wounds and move forward. Which, given the current situation and the atmosphere at Alpine, is already huge.