Alpine driver not getting carried away by strong Friday form: "The target is to score good points"

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has said that the team is buoyed by their performance in Friday's practice sessions and is targeting points on race day at the Saudi Arabian GP on Sunday (March 19).

The French driver has had a stellar start to his stint with Alpine in Bahrain, fighting back from down the grid to finish P9 and score points. The Enstone-based outfit have been strong in Jeddah in their last two visits and are on the right path to scoring good points once again.

Speaking to PlanetF1, Gasly said:

“Race pace looked good. We need to go through all the numbers; it’s still quite fresh. But generally speaking, we are looking pretty strong. I think if we nail that qualifying tomorrow, I think we can put ourselves in a strong position for the race."

He continued:

“It’s going to be fine margins, but we will go for it, and I’m excited for tomorrow. The target is to score good points, to have a decent weekend with both cars and, you know, start our season properly."

---

“Strong Friday for the team; we’ve got some good potential" - Alpine driver Pierre Gasly

Gasly also added that it was a very positive and strong Friday for Alpine heading into the all-important qualifying session on Saturday on the streets of Jeddah.

He said:

“I must say I am pretty happy. Strong Friday for the team, (and) we’ve got some good potential. We’ve shown some good speed. It’s very positive. I can still feel there are a couple of things here and there that I am not fully happy about. So, there’s probably more on the table, but looking at the lap times, we seem to be there. So, good start.”

Gasly continued:

“I expect a very tight battle, same as in Bahrain, especially in qualifying. We are going to be looking at one or two tenths, and we are going to see about seven, eight cars in that battle for Q3. So, important to tidy up everything for tomorrow. But it gets me excited.”

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said that Alpine could challenge Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso during the race on Sunday.

If that's indeed the case, fans could be treated to a four-way battle between Alpine, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes for a podium finish, as Red Bull seem a step too far for the rest of the grid.