Pierre Gasly: Alpine in 'much better place' at Imola GP despite crash with rabbit
After a turbulent few weeks for the French side, which has featured the resignation of team boss Oliver Oakes and the announcement a mid-season driver swap, Gasly was on fine form in the first day of practice at the Imola GP.
Advertisement
The French driver's time of 1m15.569s was the third quickest lap of the second session, and put him a little under three tenths off the pace of the leading McLaren pair.
'It's been a very, very good Friday,' Gasly told Sky TV after the second practice session in Italy.
'From the first lap, I could tell the car was in a much better place than in Miami. I'm glad we managed to answer some of the question marks we had after the last race.
'Obviously, we know from Friday to Saturday, others usually keep a bit more in their pocket, but I think it's quite fair to say it's probably been the best Friday so far this year.'
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Peter Fox / Getty Images
Peter Fox / Getty Images
Advertisement
Gasly added that he now felt more comfortable finding the limit of his A525, and said he felt he could 'push it to the maximum' despite the narrow, unforgiving nature of the Italian circuit.
However, it wasn't all plane sailing for the French racer on the first day of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. In the day's earlier session, Gasly was caught out by an animal on track.
Gasly said he 'very sadly' collided with a rabbit that ran out onto the track during FP1, a clash that reportedly damaged his A525 and impacted his running for the session.
'I couldn't tell if it was a small cat or a big rabbit,' the Frenchman added.
Advertisement
'It turned out that it was a big rabbit just jumping across the track. I could not avoid it, so I had quite a big impact on the front wing.
'Unfortunately, that was it for the rabbit and [it] also broke the front wing. It was not ideal, but not the end of the session we wanted.'
Read Also:
Flavio Briatore denies Alpine's five-race F1 plan for Franco Colapinto
'Turbulent' Alpine drive will make Franco Colapinto stronger - Williams
The collision reportedly caused 'quite a bit of damage' to the floor and front wing of Gasly's car.
Despite his crash with the wildlife, Gasly still managed to log 21 laps over the course of first practice and recorded a best time of 1m16.696s – good enough for sixth place.
Head here to stay up to speed with the latest F1 Imola Grand Prix news, expert analysis, photos and videos.
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
29 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Liverpool reportedly agree $110 million fee for Hugo Ekitike — How will he fit in?
With multiple reports claiming that Liverpool have agreed a fee of $110 million to sign Hugo Ekitike, the Reds will take their incredible summer of spending to over $370 million. MORE — Full transfer ins and outs for all Premier League clubs David Ornstein reported that an 'outline agreement' is in place as talks are almost complete between Liverpool and Eintracht Frankfurt and the transfer fee for Ekitike, including add ons, will be over $110 million. The likes of Fabrizio Romano and Sky Sports have since shared similar details, with the former saying that Ekitike has agreed a six-year contract at Liverpool. But what will Ekitike bring to Liverpool? Where will he fit in to the team as the reigning Premier League champions aim to go back-to-back? Hugo Ekitike is a perfect fit for Slot's fluid system Ekitike, 23 years old, is a versatile forward who is going to thrive in Arne Slot's fluid attacking system and this is one of those deals where it makes all the sense in the world. The French striker is able to play off the shoulder of the last defender and make clever runs in-behind, while he also loves to drift wide and that should open up space for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luiz Diaz and Florian Wirtz to exploit. Ekitike's imminent arrival suggests that Darwin Nunez is on his way out this summer, while the likes of Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo will also be pushed further down the pecking order. After a few years of frugality, Liverpool have gone big on signings and Ekitike, Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili and Milos Kerkez are set to be regulars for most of the next decade. All of them are on their way up and are hungry to prove they belong at the very top. That is exactly the kind of drive Arne Slot's side need as they aim to defend their Premier League title and go all the way in the Champions League. How many goals could Ekitike add to Liverpool? Ekitike scored 22 goals in all competitions last season — including 15 goals and eight assists in 31 starts in the Bundesliga — as he helped Frankfurt qualify for the Champions League. His expected goals (xG) tally was 21.7 in the Bundesliga last season, so he got himself into better situations than his goal tally suggests, and if he can continue to improve his finishing he will surely get close to the 30-goal marker in all competitions each season in the future. It seems like he's right on the cusp of breaking out into one of the best versatile forwards in Europe and this signing has a similar feel to when Liverpool signed Sadio Mane in the summer of 2016. Let's see if Ekitike, and Liverpool's other new signings, can deliver on the big expectations. Everything is pointing towards more shrewd business, and long-term success, from Michael Edwards, Richard Hughes and Co. behind-the-scenes at Liverpool.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
The ‘Chemtrails' That Should Worry Us
BERLIN - FEBRUARY 07: An vehicle's exhaust pipe releases fumes on February 7, 2007 in Berlin, ... More Germany. The European Commission announced new carbon dioxide (CO2) targets for car makers which the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said it could not agree with, stating they are "unbalanced and damaging to the European economy in terms of wealth, employment and growth potential." (Photo by) Getty Images I recently wrote a piece debunking weather conspiracy theories. One of the featured topics was 'chemtrails.' Some people believe condensation trails ("contrails") coming out of airplanes are chemtrails being used to control the climate, our minds, or whatever. In that article, I explained what contrails are and pointed to scholarly evidence refuting 'chemtrail' narratives. However, a follower on one of my social media platforms made a great point. 'Chemtrails' that we should be concerned about are right in front of us everyday - exhaust from cars. LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 12: Two commercial airliners appear to fly close together as the pass over ... More London on March 12, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by) Getty Images According to a National Weather Service website, contrails are, 'Cloud-like streamers frequently observed to form behind aircraft flying in clear, cold, humid air.' They can be formed by water vapor that overcomes combustion heat or from aerodynamic pressure reduction from air flow around wing tips or propellors. Yes, I know this is not a perfect analogy, but on a cold day, our breath produces something similar to a contrail. TORONTO, ON - February 3 - The breath of a worker on Yonge St. can be seen in the air on a bitterly ... More cold day in Toronto. Lance McMillan/Toronto StarFebruary-3-2023 (Photo by Lance McMillan/Toronto Star via Getty Images) Toronto Star via Getty Images So what's in the exhaust fumes from an automobile? Most cars emit a chemical stew of things. Carbon dioxide, though non-toxic, is a primary contributor to climate warming and ocean acidification. Carbon monoxide is quite toxic, but new engines produce less of it than older cars. It can also interact with other constituents in the atmosphere to affect certain greenhouse gases like methane or ozone. Nitrogen oxides are inherent to most combustion engines and are contributors to photochemical smog. Sulfur dioxide can also contribute to air pollution. Other ingredients in the exhaust pipe 'stew' include hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) and benzene. FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2009 file photo, cars give off exhaust fumes in Montpelier, Vt. The state of ... More Vermont is reaping the benefit of national clean air policies. The Environmental Protection Agency recently reported Vermont hasn't had what it defines as a bad-air day in more than two years. Vermont officials say the state's last unhealthy air day was in July 2011. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File) Copyright 2009 AP. All rights reserved. Diesel engines may actually emit small particles of metal and black soot. Laurence Allan wrote, 'Modern cars are fitted with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) to reduce the number of harmful particles being pumped out into the atmosphere.' Particulate matter can cause or amplify certain health ailments. FILE - Smog lingers over the city overlooking the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles as seen from ... More Signal Hill, Calif., on Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent, File) Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved The EPA website noted, "The Clean Air Act, which was last amended in 1990, requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (40 CFR part 50) for six principal pollutants ("criteria" air pollutants) which can be harmful to public health and the environment." These pollutants are carbon monoxide, lead, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particule pollution. Government regulations and recent trends in alternative energy transition have led to cleaner air. Clean Air Acts and EPA regulation have produced progress on cleaner air since 1990. EPA As for carbon dioxide, an EPA website pointed out the following facts: The average passenger car emits roughly 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The average passenger car emits aroud 400 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. Carbon dioxide emissions from one gallon of gasoline is 8,887 grams CO2. It is even slightly higher for diesel. Carbon dioxide values continue to rise globally, and climate continues to change, naturally and through these anthropogenic contributions. Trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide. NOAA
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
🚨Line-ups announced for Atlas v Cruz Azul
Atlas opens the doors of Estadio Jalisco to play the match of Day 2 against Cruz Azul, where they will seek to link their second consecutive match with a victory, while the celestes need to start adding up three points. Atlas XI Cruz Azul XI Don't miss the details of Atlas - Cruz Azul This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Agustin Cuevas - 2025 Getty Images
