Bahrain GP: Pierre Gasly says Alpine ‘need this’ top four start

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

SAKHIR, Bahrain -- Pierre Gasly delivered an impressive performance in Bahrain's qualifying session, reviving Alpine's hopes for their first points finish of 2025. Gasly secured fifth place, later elevated to fourth following grid penalties for both Mercedes drivers, in an eventful Q3 session on Saturday.

Alpine, yet to score through three races this year, is optimistic about converting Gasly's starting position into a top-10 finish. "We need this," the Frenchman remarked. "It's been tight, and we haven't scored any points this year. We've been more on the back foot, but this weekend we managed to put a very strong performance together."

Gasly believed this performance proved Alpine's capability on certain tracks. "I nailed the second run in Q2 and in Q3, which put us in a great position. It shows there is potential in the car. Though we've struggled more on other tracks, today we've proven that potential, and we know there will be other tracks with opportunities."

Qualifying produced a mixed grid, with championship leader Lando Norris starting behind Gasly on the third row. Red Bull's Max Verstappen starts directly behind Gasly, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton will begin from ninth.

"If Lando and Max want to battle it out behind for the first few laps, that'll be great. Jokes apart, we know these guys have a lot of pace. We expected to be around P9/P10 in qualifying and did better. Tomorrow, we'll try to maximize our track position at the start. It will be a different race than Suzuka, but we're in the battle for points, which is important for the team."

Gasly's teammate, Jack Doohan, will start from 11th.

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