Pierre Gasly, who recently renewed his contract with Alpine finds himself in a world of difficulty ahead of the British GP this weekend. A staggering 50-place grid penalty means qualifying will be practically worthless for the Frenchman, whose aim will be to finish in the points in the race.
Alpine and Gasly have decided to overhaul the car’s power unit ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix. A maximum of four components of the Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger, Motor Generator Unit-Heat, and Motor-Generator Unit-Kinetic are allowed per car, per season. In addition to this, a team can also change the Control Electronics twice.
F1 power units have come a long way in terms of reliability. Previous engines would fail too often, leading to disturbances mid-race, which sometimes added to the excitement on a grander scale. However, lately, engine failures have become rare. Teams getting the chance to pick several components throughout a season is likely a major reason behind this.
New document: Doc 18 – Infringement – Car 10 – PU elements
Published on 05-07-2024 16:16 CEThttps://t.co/YrQjlb1bYG#F1 #Formula1 #FIA #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/ifcNlj5exB— FIA F1 Documents Bot (@fiadocsbot) July 5, 2024
Gasly has decided to breach the limit and take an additional component for all. For each, he gets a 10-place grid penalty, taking his total to 50. Silverstone being a circuit that is good for making overtakes makes the ordeal slightly less daunting for Gasly.
According to rules, however, if a driver accrues a grid penalty that is over 15 places, then they have to start from the back of the grid irrespective of the position in which they qualify. Since Gasly’s number is 50, he won’t be worrying too much about Saturday’s second session.
What is Pierre Gasly’s strategy for the 2024 British GP?
For Gasly, focusing on qualifying wouldn’t make any sense, because even a pole position would put him at P20 in the starting lineup. As such, he will look to save tires for the race, which will give him an edge over his competitors.
Speaking to the media, Gasly detailed how Alpine put reserve driver Jack Doohan in the car in FP1 because they knew a penalty was incoming. The aim for Gasly meanwhile, remains completely different for the weekend.
“The big focus is on Sunday. Trying to improve the car as much as we can for the long run”, said Gasly. “For us qualifying doesn’t really matter. It’s a strange weekend. The target is to be in a position to attack and overtake, which is not easy.”
Gasly is the likeliest contender to have a fresh set of soft rubbers if there is a late safety car. Given how harsh Silverstone is on tire wear, saving the tires might come in handy for the Alpine driver.
