Fighting Ferrari, McLaren gave Gasly “different excitement” in F1

Gasly guided AlphaTauri to its best-ever season in terms of points scored as it narrowly missed out on fifth in the constructors’ championship.

The Frenchman regularly made Q3 in qualifying and consistently scored to secure ninth in the drivers’ championship.

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Gasly believes AlphaTauri should be proud of what it achieved.

“We come close to Alpine, it’s always difficult to see such a margin after 22 races but overall what we have achieved as a team, when we look at all the previous years as AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso, is incredible,” he said. “So I’m really proud of these guys and also hopeful of what we can achieve in [2022] because they have proved they can perform at a very high level.

“I do believe we did very well and could have finished fifth but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I'm still very proud of what we have achieved and what I've achieved. You know, 110 points, it doesn't happen very often with AlphaTauri. I’ve enjoyed this season a lot. 

“I know next year could be very different. It could be same, could be better, could be worse. But at the end of the day, I’m just happy to have seen the team performing in that way, because it gives hope for next year.”

While Gasly wasn’t able to add to his win tally in 2021 after doing so a year prior at Monza, the 25-year-old still enjoyed the season as he was able to battle with the Ferraris and McLarens.

“Obviously we didn’t have the win this season and there is nothing that can compare to this winning feeling, but I think, overall, as an entire season of 22 races, I must say I have enjoyed all 22,” he explained. 

“It’s just coming into a race weekend knowing you are going to fight for points, fight with Ferraris and McLaren, it’s just a different excitement. I must say I’ve loved it all year and I really hope it’s going to be the case [again] next year.” 

Gasly outscored rookie teammate Yuki Tsunoda 110 to 32.

The Japanese driver upped his form in the second half of the season but it was not enough to overtake Alpine for fifth in the constructors’ championship.

Gasly remains confident that Tsunoda will continue to improve in 2022.

“Yeah. Obviously it’s not easy coming into a year for Yuki,” he added. “A couple of bad moments but we knew it ahead of the season. I don’t think we expected to be in a position to fight that close for fifth. You can always think that we’ve lost a few points here and there and could have done better, but at the end of the day, he’s in his first season. 

“On our side I think we maximised everything we could. There were one or two races we lost points due to mistakes, those are things we need to avoid next year but I’m sure we are going to have a strong line-up for next season and give these guys a harder time.”