Delighted Gasly says P4 feels ‘like a pole position’ for AlphaTauri

Gasly produced an outstanding lap to take fourth on the grid ahead of both Ferraris as he ended up half a second off Max Verstappen’s pole time and got within two-tenths of Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes.

It marked the Frenchman’s joint-best qualifying result of the season, matching his effort from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he continued his excellent run of Q3 appearances in 2021.

“I’m extremely happy to qualify fourth,” Gasly beamed.

“Behind the two Mercedes and Max, for us it’s like our pole position let’s say especially as it hasn’t been an easy weekend until now.

“Going into quali we weren’t confident about our pace and we just managed to find some extra time just now in this session and were always very competitive, so I’m extremely happy to qualify fourth.”

Gasly said he is pleased to see that his performances this season are getting “noticed” after working hard to find improvements.

“I’m really a perfectionist, all the time, and always looking for perfection,” he explained. "I told Fabi [Fabiana Valenti, AlphaTauri head of comms] if I’m not unhappy that means I’m happy, and that’s the feeling I get today.

“I don’t think we could have done any better with that car and as a driver that’s always a good feeling. I think this year has been really consistent.

“I’ve been performing at my best level in Formula 1, definitely compared to since I arrived. And it’s good it’s noticed.”

Despite his fine form, Gasly is set to stay at AlphaTauri for 2022 following the announcement that Sergio Perez will remain Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull next year.

Asked whether he had received an explanation for why he wasn’t picked for a Red Bull seat in an interview with Sky Sports after qualifying, Gasly replied: “I wonder why.

“But, yeah, there were discussions and you know, I think they are really happy with my performance but obviously there is not only this into… you know like me how difficult it is and yeah, they made their decision.

“Obviously it was a small disappointment for me because that’s where I want to be, I want to have a fast car.

“AlphaTauri give me really a strong car, but yeah, I mean it was up to them [Red Bull]. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future but for sure next year I’m not going to drive there.”