Pierre Gasly bemoaned contact at the start ruining his Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix prospects, expressing that it is a “long f***ing flight to end up spun around”.
The Frenchman qualified inside the top 10, but he slipped back to 15th in the race, which later became 13th once the two McLaren drivers were excluded post-race.
Gasly was caught up in an accident at Turn 1 on the opening tour, which saw Gabriel Bortoleto brake too late into the corner and collect Lance Stroll and the Alpine.
“Got spun around, and my diffuser got smashed at the back,” Gasly told media, including Motorsport Week.
“So yeah. It’s a long f***ing flight to end up spun around on Saturday and get another unlucky race in Vegas for me.
“It’s been three years in a row where I have very strong quali and it doesn’t really translate into the race.”
With Alpine having stopped developing its 2025 car much earlier than its rivals, Gasly admitted the damage he incurred compounded the team’s overall pace deficit.
“It’s not like our car’s got huge downforce on it, so if on top of that you get damage, it’s just been quite a long afternoon,” he added. “It’s just been a pretty s*** day.”
The first turn has generated chaos at the start since the Las Vegas Strip Circuit‘s inaugural race in 2023, but Gasly believes inexperience was the main cause this time.
“I don’t know exactly what happened with [Liam] Lawson,” he said.
“But yeah, obviously Bortoleto made a pretty big misjudgment there and it was Liam also hit [Oscar] Piastri. So yeah, two guys with not much experience.
“We know it’s a tricky one from the past few years. Turn 1 is very tricky, but then you obviously need to consider that.
“Turn 1 is very tricky, but then you obviously need to consider that and, yeah, I think clearly yesterday [in the wet] was a good display of driving skills.”
Gasly highlights Alpine improvement at Las Vegas GP
Despite the frustration, Gasly didn’t want to overlook the progress that Alpine has made in recent rounds to allow him to make it back-to-back appearances in Q3.
“I’m in another Q3 and it’s my ninth Q3 of the year,” he reflected. “I’m very happy with my quali performance.
“We’ve had a bit of a deep mid-season and found out some of the reasons why it wasn’t going too well. I must say, I’m pretty pleased. We’re still trying every weekend.”
“It was pretty tough yesterday, but I think overall we did a good job. It’s just a shame for all the guys not to really benefit from it.”
READ MORE – How Pierre Gasly is ‘motivating’ Alpine amid torrid 2025 season
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