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Pierre Gasly believes that Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes are a cut above the rest of the field and it is nearly impossible for other teams to compete with them this season.
The Frenchman feels that the new regulations introduced by F1 have 'bunched up' the rest of the field whereas the top three have been able to pull ahead.
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In an interview with Autosport ahead of the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Pierre Gasly voiced his concerns about the regulations, which were brought about to make the sport more competitive. He said:
“I think if you look from fourth-fastest to probably the last actually, I think we all bunched up quite a lot, but the top three is a different world. Even last year, I got excited many times because I could outqualify a Ferrari, sometimes the Red Bulls, sometimes Mercedes. I felt like this top-three, they were faster, but they were not such a different league that you could tease them sometimes. This year, there is no way. It’s clearly a big step. Only [Valtteri] Bottas can challenge at times. We’re literally fighting for seventh, which is a bit sad, because clearly the target was to close [up].”
Gasly went on to add:
“Today I think even if you’re driving a Ferrari or Red Bull, you can go completely wide at one corner and still qualify in the top six, compared to a guy who nailed his lap with another car. If you make a mistake, if you do a pole lap, you should be penalised and be at the back of the field. It’s been always like this. Hopefully with the regulations, it’s going to close up a bit.”
Pierre Gasly is on a mission to defend AlphaTauri's good result in the 2021 Azerbaijan GP.
Pierre Gasly is optimistic about his chances heading into the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP. He is determined to defend his team's good results in last year's dramatic edition.
Last season, the 26-year-old ended up on the podium following a late red flag brought out due to Max Verstappen's tire failure on the start-finish straight and Lewis Hamilton overcooking his brakes going into Turn 1 on the restart.
In the aforementioned interview with Autosport, Pierre Gasly said:
“I have a good feeling about this race, as the Baku track is made up of nothing but slow corners and we know that, so far this year, we seem to struggle more in high speed turns. So, I think the layout could potentially suit us. We mustn’t forget there’s that long main straight, so we will have to see how we deal with that. But overall, I’m reasonably optimistic we can perform well there.”
The Frenchman continued:
“Last year we did really well here, as I finished on the podium in third place after qualifying fourth and it was an excellent race for the team as Yuki [Tsunoda] was also in the points in seventh. So, we come to Baku to defend that result. Getting a tow down that final long straight would be helpful for Qualifying, but apart from that, it’s another street circuit, very twisty and tight with characteristics similar to Monaco.”
Heading into the race weekend in Baku, Pierre Gasly only has two points finishes to his name and has not placed higher than P8. He is currently P14 in the Driver Standings with six points from seven rounds of racing.
