Gasly's Japan P7 Provides 'Good Motivation' for Alpine After Intense Verstappen Battle

Pierre Gasly delivered a standout performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, securing a seventh-place finish that he hopes will provide "good motivation" to everyone at Alpine after what he described as "a long, intense race" against former teammate Max Verstappen.

The Frenchman's result saw him top the midfield at Suzuka, leaving him eighth in the Championship standings after three rounds of the season – a significant improvement from Alpine's position propping up the standings last year.

"I'm very happy. It was a long, intense race, especially after the Safety Car," said Gasly. "The first part of the race was good, I felt comfortable, a bit of a gap to [Verstappen] but I knew there would always be a Safety Car at some point so I wasn't getting too comfortable."

Verstappen's Persistent Pressure

The Red Bull driver proved a constant threat throughout the race, applying pressure that kept Gasly on his toes until the checkered flag. "The second part of the race this guy would not leave my heels all the way through!" Gasly explained. "I had to check on him five times a lap just to understand exactly the gap and make sure I was pushing as hard as I could, make sure not to make any mistakes, really nail all my exits to not get too close."

Despite Verstappen briefly getting past at one point, Gasly managed to rally and reclaim his position, demonstrating both the Alpine's competitive pace and his own defensive skills.

Building Momentum for the Season

Gasly's performance in Japan follows a strong showing in Shanghai where he finished sixth, suggesting Alpine has made significant progress with their 2026 car. The team's ability to perform well at three very different circuits (Melbourne, Shanghai, and Suzuka) provides optimism for the remainder of the season.

"In the end, I must say the pace was good, we finished only seven seconds behind Lewis [Hamilton], and 18s in front of Liam [Lawson] in P9," Gasly noted. "So, seems we were in the better train, and we need to build on that."

The Frenchman particularly emphasized the motivation factor for the entire Alpine organization: "I'll be at the factory in the coming weeks but hopefully it brings a good motivation to everybody. We clearly have a good package, and I'm glad we managed to get a good [result] at all three tracks that are very different."

Midfield Battle Intensifies

The midfield competition remains tight, with Haas currently holding fourth in the Championship standings, just two points ahead of Alpine. Red Bull sits sixth level on points with the French manufacturer, while Racing Bulls are seventh, two points adrift.

Gasly acknowledged the gap to the front-runners but remained optimistic about Alpine's potential: "I think it definitely brings some good optimism for the rest of the year and as I said, the gap to the guys ahead is too big to fight, but it is not too big to make it impossible. So [it is] important we keep working on it and I'm looking forward to the next few race weekends."