Written by Alejandra Guajardo Lozano, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Several drivers on the 2024 Formula One grid experienced rollercoaster seasons, yet none more so than Pierre Gasly.
The Alpine driver entered the season with low expectations, due to the early signs of an underperforming car. At round one in Bahrain, neither Alpine driver scored points, just a glimpse of a woeful start of the season for Alpine and Gasly himself.
Gasly´s first half of the season can be summarised as disastrous. After a mechanical failure on just the second race of the season, the French driver found himself P21 in the Driver Standings.
He was even behind Ollie Bearman, who filled in for Carlos Sainz in Ferrari just for one weekend. Followed by an unlucky stint of no points, a DNS in Great Britain due to a gearbox problem, and another DNF due to hydraulic issues in Hungary, Gasly was not feeling optimistic.
At the Belgian Grand Prix, the end of the first half of the season, the French driver spoke with Autosport about his issues with the car.
"It was absolutely terrible down the straights," Gasly said. "It was supposed to be a couple of kph and I ended up losing seven-tenths every lap with some engine temperature issue.”
"It was just very frustrating, I just keep having problems on top of problems the last three weekends,” He added. "It's been a tough start to the season. We scored 10 points in the first part of the year. We must do a lot better in the second part of the year."
After the summer break, Gasly managed to secure a P9 in the Netherlands, scoring two points. Then, he went pointless again for a few races until Mexico, scoring a singular point in P10. Although, the best was yet to come.
The 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix reaped big points for Gasly and for Alpine, even if it did not look like it at the beginning. While his teammate Esteban Ocon qualified P4, Gasly had to settle for P13, unable to complete his lap due to the late red flags in Q2.
But after some skill and strategy, Ocon and Gasly managed to get on the podium in second and third respectively. Gasly showed amazing skills to fend off George Russell in the Mercedes.
“I’m absolutely buzzing right now! I’m just so proud of the team. To overcome such a tough season… it would have been too easy to give up but we never gave up and here we are. Both cars P2 and P3, a lot of points for the team and everyone should be very proud today,” Gasly said after the race.
“It’s incredible for the whole team. We had such a tough season, we’ve struggled to score points. In these conditions everything was possible. No one believed it until the end – two cars on the podium, I don’t think anyone would have got that on their bingo card ahead of this season. It’s just fantastic.”
Gasly closed his season with an unlucky DNF in Las Vegas, having qualified a lofty third for the race. Yet, this setback didn’t deter the Frenchman, who gathered more points with a valuable P5 in Qatar, and seventh in Abu Dhabi, having battled for the podium at one point.
An impressive season for the French driver who continuously outperformed his own car. He placed himself 10th in the Driver Standings, helped Alpine finish sixth in the Constructors Championship, setting a record which even world champion Max Verstappen couldn't match.
He was the first driver to cost $0 in crash damages to his team. A record almost as impressive as his recovery in the second half of the season.
Overall, Gasly’s 2024 season was a showcase of his amazing driving skills, even when he didn’t have the machinery underneath him all the time. One can hope Alpine can give him a decent car next year, so he can make wonders out of it.
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