Alpine driver Pierre Gasly ultimately left Silverstone very frustrated after a series of incidents curtailed his British GP.
Following a solid Saturday, where the Frenchman reached Q3, Sunday’s race saw the weekend turn sour. Gasly ran in the points during the opening few laps of the Grand Prix, rising as high as fifth prior to the safety car on lap 34.
The Alpine star, unfortunately, pitted just before the SC, sliding down to 11th as a result. Gasly’s day continued to get worse from there, as clashes with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll caused multiple flashpoints.
Contact between the Alpine and Aston at Vale Corner was eventually Gasly’s undoing; he retired due to damage from Stroll.
Speaking after the British GP, Pierre Gasly could not hold back his dismay at missing out on points.
“It just seems like everything didn’t come our way,” said a dejected Gasly, via Formula 1. “After that, we got passed by Lance [Stroll] off the racetrack, but apparently it was fine. I managed to pass him back, and Carlos [Sainz] as well. But in the end, we were taken out of the race.
“So, I am just extremely disappointed. Obviously, we were not fighting for big points, but they would still have been a small reward. And yeah, in the end, it just feels like all the hard work we’re doing is ruined.
“I’m extremely disappointed right now.”
The former AlphaTauri driver was also thoroughly unimpressed with his fellow drivers’ tactics at Silverstone.
Gasly airs grievances over Carlos Sainz defending
In the press pit after the British GP, footage emerged of Pierre Gasly letting Ferrari’s Sainz know he did not appreciate his defending.
Gasly nudged and pointed at the Spaniard, saying “Don’t push me like that, Carlos.”
Sainz, who was mid-interview with Spanish media, simply responded “Pobrecito” – which translates to “poor thing”. Don’t think a translator is necessary to get the sarcasm from the Ferrari ace’s retort.
So, why were the pair in such disagreement?
Well, onboard footage from the No.10 Alpine shows that Sainz may have given Gasly a squeeze on the run down the old pit straight at Silverstone. The Frenchman had initially gone around the outside of the Ferrari at Luffield, however, Sainz’s better drive gave him the chance to pull ahead and move Gasly onto the curbing on the outside of the track.
It was definitely combative defending, but the stewards saw nothing illegal from Sainz. Despite this, Gasly shared stills of his onboard footage from the incident on Instagram, suggesting that he feels aggrieved.
But it was not the Ferrari driver that caused the Frenchman’s retirement.
Why did Pierre Gasly retire from the British GP?
Instead, he should really lay the blame on Lance Stroll. Although their collision forced Gasly’s retirement on lap 46, their battle started six laps prior.
Stroll overtook the Alpine at the outside of Stowe but did go over the curb on the exit. Although arguably out of track limits, the Canadian kept the place.
The pair then went side-by-side into Vale during the closing stages of the race. Stroll’s clumsy manoeuvre at the penultimate corner saw him hit Gasly’s car, breaking the suspension on the Alpine.
As a result, Gasly had a DNF, and Stroll received a 5-second penalty to demote him to 14th. Alpine suffered a double retirement thanks to Esteban Ocon’s earlier exit, too.
Following such an annoying British GP, Pierre Gasly and Alpine will look to bounce back at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Featured image credit: Getty
