Gasly: Minimal gaps will make the race exciting

      Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto posted the 14th and 16th fastest times respectively in qualifying at Zandvoort. Alpine drivers noted the tightness of the times, which leaves them hopeful of fighting for higher positions in the race.

      Pierre Gasly (14th): “Overall I’m happy with the result of today’s qualifying and with how the team turned around the negative trend after the third practice. This morning we lacked pace, so it’s great that in qualifying we were able to fight to reach the final.

      Although I’m only 14th, I was only one-and-a-half tenths of a second short of making the final — such minimal gaps. Of course we want more, but given the car we currently have at our disposal, we can be satisfied.

      Those minimal gaps will make the race exciting, and teams and drivers will have no room for error, so we’ll have to give it everything. This track isn’t easy to overtake on, but we’ll see what we can do. I wouldn’t say no to rain! Then anything can happen in the race.”

      Franco Colapinto (16th): “Qualifying was very tense. In the third practice we had problems, but in qualifying the car was in better shape. There was potential to make it into the second part, but on the decisive run I got caught in traffic in sector three. Two cars ended up in front of me, which cost me downforce through turns 11, 12 and 13.

      It’s frustrating to lose by so little, especially in a situation that was out of my control. I had a good session, and that result was very disappointing. The team wants more, and we’re fighting. We had decent pace in Friday’s runs with a full tank, so I’m hoping for a strong performance tomorrow regardless of the weather.”