AlphaTauri Pierre Gasly is disappointed in the lack of variety Formula 1’s new era of technical regulations has throw up so far in 2022, and says that the fact more teams cannot compete at the front is ‘a bit sad.’
The Frenchman is a lowly 14th in the drivers’ standings after the opening seven rounds of the campaign, struggling in a car which has dropped down the grid order since last season.
The field has been shaken up this season after F1 underwent its biggest regulation change in a generation over the winter, with all ten teams forced to design their machinery from scratch as ground effect aerodynamics were brought back for the first time since the 1980s.
The changes were designed to draw the field closer together, and to allow cars to follow one another more easily, meaning drivers could race each other harder.
So far, the changes have received a predominantly positive reaction, with tactical battles for the lead between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in the season’s early races serving as strong evidence that following and battling is indeed becoming more frequent.
Every team has already scored points in at least two races so far this season, but the aim that more drivers would be able to compete for wins and podiums has not been realised yet. So far, only Verstappen, Leclerc and Sergio Perez have won races, while Lando Norris is the only non-Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes driver to have finished on the podium.
‘I expected the field to close up together – which I think happened in the midfield,’ Gasly said. ‘I think if you look from fourth fastest to probably the last position, actually, I think we really all bunched up quite a lot.
‘But the top three is a different world. Even last year, I got excited many times because I could out-qualify Ferrari, sometimes Red Bull, sometimes Mercedes – I felt like these top three, they were faster, but they were not in such a different league that you could tease them sometimes. This year, there’s no way.’
For Gasly, whose deal with AlphaTauri runs until the end of 2023, only Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas has been able to disrupt those at the front of the field, and a solution must be found.
‘There’s clearly like a big step between – only Bottas can challenge them at times. But they are on their own, and we’re literally fighting for seventh. Which is a bit sad, because clearly the target was to close.
‘So I hope whatever solution we can find for the coming years because that’s the target and that’s what we’re all pushing [for] as drivers. We want drivers to have a bigger impact and input on the end result.’
26-year-old Gasly is two places and five points younger team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in the standings.
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