Pierre Gasly Condemns Racing Bulls’ Team Tactics After Dutch Grand Prix

Pierre Gasly, an Alpine Formula 1 driver, has attributed his disappointing performance at the Dutch Grand Prix to Racing Bulls’ strategic maneuvers during the race, as the teams engage in a fierce constructors’ championship battle.

Gasly demonstrated strong pace in Zandvoort, finishing eighth in the sprint race—considered the ‘best of the rest’—but he started the main event from 11th position on the grid.

Despite a promising start that saw him quickly advance to eighth, Gasly’s progress was halted after his first pit stop, which left him behind Arvid Lindblad. Lindblad had received a drive-through penalty for a yellow-flag infringement, removing him from points contention.

Gasly found himself trapped behind Lindblad for seven laps. When he attempted an overtake around the outside of Turn 11, he locked up his tires, allowing Nico Hulkenberg to pass him, with Yuki Tsunoda closing in rapidly.

Hulkenberg easily overtook Lindblad, but Gasly continued to struggle. Tsunoda executed a impressive maneuver on Gasly at Turn 7, a move he set up during the banked Turn 3 curve.

Although Lindblad facilitated his teammate’s pass, Gasly faced significant difficulties. In total, it took the French driver 17 laps to finally get past Lindblad.

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, behind Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

Compounding his challenges, Gasly ended up behind Tsunoda again after his second pit stop and required an additional 10 laps to find a way past his former teammate.

“VCARB ruined our race in the middle part of the race, played a team game for the championship and did it well,” Gasly expressed. “I mean, it just made me lose a position to Nico and Tsunoda and I don’t know how many seconds of race time. Congrats to them, and I can’t wait to race them.”

The Racing Bulls strategy did not benefit their own team, as Tsunoda and Lindblad finished 11th and 12th, respectively, without scoring points. However, it significantly cost Gasly a potential ninth-place finish. He ended up one second behind Fernando Alonso after losing four seconds to the Spaniard—despite having new tires—while stuck behind Lindblad. The Tsunoda obstacle further prevented the Alpine driver from closing the gap to the one-stopping Aston Martin as quickly as possible.

“It’s just annoying, but it’s Zandvoort,” Gasly added. “Can’t really overtake, and this is going to change in the coming tracks. And good thing is I have a good memory, so I’m going to make sure we smile at the end of the year.”

When approached by Motorsport.com for comment on Gasly’s statements, Lindblad remained unfazed: “I don’t know. Yeah, that’s a nice story. In the end, yeah, I played the team game. I don’t know.

Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images

“If he has a good memory, then fine. In the end, we all fight as hard as we can every weekend. I tried to help the team where I could. The reality was, my race, I wasn’t really in it anymore, so yeah, I did what I could to help the team.”

The two teams are locked in a close contest for fifth place in the constructors’ championship, with Racing Bulls holding 66 points and Alpine now up to 63.

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