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Alpine’s Gasly Steals the Spotlight as McLaren Falters – “Alpine being ahead of McLaren in Las Vegas is ‘concerning'”

Harry Bright by Harry Bright
January 9, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Alpine’s Gasly Steals the Spotlight as McLaren Falters – “Alpine being ahead of McLaren in Las Vegas is ‘concerning'”

Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 22, 2024 McLaren's Oscar Piastri in action during qualifying REUTERS/Mike Blake

“Piastri Admits Concern as Alpine’s Gasly Outpaces McLaren in Las Vegas Qualifying”

Oscar Piastri has voiced concerns after a lackluster qualifying performance for the Las Vegas Grand Prix saw both McLaren drivers outpaced by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. The Australian, who qualified eighth on the grid, trailed Gasly by four-tenths of a second and was seven-tenths adrift of pole-sitter George Russell’s time for Mercedes.


Gasly’s Surprise Performance Raises Eyebrows

While Piastri expected strong showings from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, he admitted that seeing Gasly’s Alpine slot into an impressive third on the grid was a surprise—and not a welcome one for McLaren.

“I’d say it’s more concerning to have an Alpine in front of us all, to be honest,” Piastri admitted. “Clearly, Gasly has been quick the last few weekends. That’s like three or four weekends in a row where he’s been very quick in quali.”

Gasly’s consistent pace, coupled with Mercedes’ unexpected dominance in Las Vegas, left McLaren grappling with its position relative to the grid.

“We expected Ferrari to be quick,” Piastri said. “I think we didn’t expect Mercedes to be so quick, but I think that’s been a surprise for us—but it sounds like it’s been a surprise for them too.”


Struggles in Qualifying: “We Were Nowhere in Q3”

Piastri pointed to McLaren’s inability to extract significant single-lap performance in Q3 as a key factor in their underwhelming grid positions.

“I think until Q3, we’ve been pretty happy with how we’ve been relative to Ferrari,” he explained. “It’s just we didn’t find that extra step. This is probably the track we expect them to be the quickest on, but we can’t just take for granted that the next two will be much better for us. If they’re not, then that’s not good news.”

McLaren has historically struggled on low-grip circuits, a characteristic that Piastri acknowledged has been a recurring challenge for the team.

“Just low grip, which is the same for everybody, but it’s just not as quick as some of our competitors this weekend,” he conceded.


Optimism for Race Day: “Plenty of Opportunities”

Despite his frustration with qualifying, Piastri remained optimistic about McLaren’s chances in the race, noting the unpredictable nature of the Las Vegas GP.

“It’s a long race tomorrow, a lot can happen, as we saw last year, so there’ll be plenty of opportunities,” Piastri said. He also suggested that McLaren’s race trim could offer more promise than its single-lap pace, saying the car “feels reasonable” for the race.


The Bigger Picture: Concerns Over Consistency

While McLaren has emerged as a frontrunner in recent races, Piastri’s comments underline the team’s need for consistency across different circuit types. With the 2024 season nearing its conclusion, McLaren will be under pressure to address its performance gaps to maintain momentum heading into the next year.

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