There was no repeat of Pierre Gasly’s stunning 2020 Italian Grand Prix win last year. However he amassed points at much the same rate as the previous season, thanks chiefly to his consistently excellent qualifying performances.
Pierre GaslyBeat team mate in qualifying19/20Beat team mate in race13/16Races finished19/22Laps spent ahead of team mate779/964Qualifying margin-0.53sPoints110
Gasly’s average position in qualifying sessions was better than either Carlos Sainz Jnr or Daniel Ricciardo managed in their quicker cars. His AlphaTauri was usually found on the third row, with occasional forays onto the second. In Qatar he took his first front-row start but there was an element of fortune about: Two other drivers collected penalties for failing to slow for yellow flags which Gasly had triggered by damaging his front wing on his final lap.
Indeed, once penalties were taken into account, Gasly had the fourth-best starting position of any driver on average over the whole of 2021. Does…