Pierre Gasly elated despite ‘challenging’ practice at Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly endured a ‘challenging’ day of practice at the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, but was elated after his Monaco news.

Feature image credit: Alpine

Before a wheel turned on Spanish asphalt, the Alpine team – Gasly, in particular – had reason to celebrate ahead of the opening practice session as the Ecclestone-based team had its right of review accepted.

Alpine lodged a Right of Review in relation to the time penalties issued against Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix, which he finished third on the road, but dropped to seventh after penalties were applied, having breached pit lane speeding twice.

Before the opening practice session, it was announced that Gasly would be reinstated to third place in Monaco, after Alpine’s Right of Review was accepted. It was revealed that the sport and the FIA made an error, relating to how the sport calculated speed in the pit lane. On the news, Gasly said:

“It has been quite a memorable day for all of us at the team. Shortly before Free Practice 1 we had the news that our third-place finish in Monaco was reinstated, so we had the elation of that and it was a great moment to be with the whole team to celebrate, albeit for a very short period of time as we had a busy day of Practice to prepare.

Despite the highs of retaking his third-place finish back. McLaren and Red Bull are, reportedly, set to appeal the FIA’s decision to rescind Gasly’s penalties, having lodged their intention to appeal.

Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: the full F1 schedule and times

In the meantime, it was business as usual in Barcelona for Alpine and Gasly, who elected not to run an FP1 rookie, as seven other teams had. Gasly described both practice sessions as ‘tough’ and a ‘challenging’ day for him and the team.

In FP1, the Frenchman could only best 17th fastest, finishing behind five of the six rookies taking part. Fortunes changed slightly in FP2, with the Grand Prix winner increasing his position to 16th overall, just behind his teammate Franco Colapinto.

“In terms of our Practice Day, it has obviously been a challenging one for us,” Gasly continued. “It was quite tough in the car throughout both sessions, so we have a lot of work to do tonight ahead of tomorrow and plenty to get on top of and improve. Our focus is fully on this race weekend now and doing the best job possible.”

Read more Formula 1 here:

• From Heartbreak To Redemption: Gasly’s Monaco Podium Is Reinstated
• Honda set to lose $3million in upgrades as Aston Martin miss out on ADUO boost.
• Norris fastest by 0.009s ahead of Russell at Barcelona-Catalunya GP
• Russell tops first practice ahead of Piastri at Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
• Pirelli remain F1 tyre supplier until 2028
• Drama In The Principality: The Monaco Grand Prix Did Not Disappoint
• Fernando Alonso suggests Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix could be his last

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.