Since joining Formula 1 towards the end of the 2017, Pierre Gasly’s 2021 season was easily his most impressive.
From regularly qualifying inside the top six on the grid to amassing well over 100 points on his way to ninth in the championship, Gasly skilfully realised the potential of AlphaTauri’s AT02 and proved that his driving abilities had now fully outgrown the developmental nature of his team.
But in 2022, Gasly’s hopes that the dramatic new technical regulations would increase opportunities for midfield teams to get in the thick of the fight for the podium failed to materialise. Instead, Gasly endured an often fruitless and frustrating final year at the team for which he has driven the vast majority of his 108 grands prix.
Gasly’s fifth full season in Formula 1 began decently enough. He reached Q3 at the first attempt in Bahrain but became the first driver of the year to retire from a race when his MGU-K failed while on course for points in eighth.
Determined to overcome the early setback, Gasly put on a solid performance in Jeddah, reaching Q3 again despite picking up floor damage in Q1. Despite the misfortune of pitting at the worst possible time before Nicholas Latifi brought out the Safety Car, Gasly fought his way back into the points to claim eighth place, despite a sudden attack of abdominal pain over the final four laps leaving him in severe discomfort.
The limited pace of the AlphaTauri relative to some of its fellow midfield runners meant that points were far harder to come by for Gasly than they had been the year prior. In Miami, Gasly did an excellent job in qualifying to secure seventh on the grid, then absorbed lap after lap of pressure from Fernando Alonso behind in the race until Alonso tagged the rear of Gasly’s car into turn one. After continuing for multiple laps, Gasly suddenly complained of steering problems and fell off the pace before he and Lando Norris collided, ending both their races.
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Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix weekend was heavily compromised by his team mate Yuki Tsunoda triggering a red flag during Q1. When the session resumed, Gasly was towards the back of the queue for the rush to start a flying lap and missed the line by a single second, being eliminated moments later. Despite starting from 17th, he only just missed out on the points in 11th in the final classification.
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