Pierre Gasly: We missed opportunities in qualifying.

      Pierre Gasly showed tenth time in the qualifying final of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and said after the session that he had expected a higher place at the start.

      His new Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto crashed the car and ended the fight ahead of schedule with a 15th time. After qualifying, the stewards fined the Argentine driver, and he will start sixteenth on Sunday.

      Pierre Gasly (10th): "I am happy to be back in the qualifying final, but I am unhappy that we were not able to make the most of the final attempt due to traffic that prevented us from leaving the pits on the lap. All things considered, we probably missed some opportunities. We need to work on the details, because the car has potential.

      The car handles well, especially after Miami. I had no problems with the first and second sessions, but in the final I couldn't drive the last attempt well. Due to the fact that I was almost the last one out of the pit lane, the tires had time to cool down. Together with the team, we need to think and decide how we can act better next time.

      We'll fight tomorrow. Interesting and potentially diverse strategy options are expected. In the evening, we will study the numbers to choose the one that suits us. The team is fighting for tenth place, so the goal is to earn some points."

      Franco Colapinto (16th): "It was a difficult qualifying and not at all what we wanted. It was my first time attacking at the limit behind the wheel of this car, and this time I exceeded that limit a bit. I decided to drive more on the curbs, but I overdid it and lost control of the back of the car. I apologize to the team – they have a lot of work to do tonight. It's not the best option to start a collaboration.

      Overall, the car is competitive enough to qualify for the finals. I know she has a lot of potential. I feel more and more comfortable driving, and I really enjoy working with the team. I'm learning every lap, and in the race there will be another opportunity to do more laps and get used to the car."

      Flavio Briatore, team principal: "It's positive that this weekend one car was back in the qualifying final. We have been in the top ten in several previous races, with the exception of Miami, and these results give us confidence that the car is good enough to fight.

      Given Pierre's time in the second session, the final result could have been higher. But overall, we are in a good position to compete in the race.

      Franco continues to get to know the car and is working well with the team and the engineers. Given the high density of the fight, he attacked at the limit and, unfortunately, crashed the car. I've talked to Franco, so he'll quickly put this incident behind him and come back strong tomorrow. The team will prepare the car and explore the options available to us – let's see what we can do in the race."