While Daniel Ricciardo qualified a surprise fourth Gasly is only 11th on Sunday’s grid, while his team-mate Esteban Ocon struggled even more, and couldn’t better 16th in Q1, before gaining a spot from a grid penalty for Yuki Tsunoda.
Gasly, who drove for Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri in Mexico City five times between 2017 and 2022 – finishing as high as fourth two years ago – suggested that the Faenza team has a very specific approach to the track, one that gives it a benefit over rivals, with data suggesting that while the AT04 was lacking compared to rivals on the straights, it is particularly strong in corners.
“[I'm] just disappointed with the overall performance of the car because we have just been not performing compared to all the guys we are fighting with usual,” Gasly said of his qualifying session.
“I have my ideas on why we're not competitive and why AlphaTauri is competitive, for example.”
Asked to expand he said: “I won't comment on that. But there are a couple of obvious things and stuff that I've already told the guys, which cost us in Sector 1.
“I mean it's stuff that even you can spot from onboard. You guys watch onboards, and you understand quite easily.”
Asked by Autosport to explain what his former driver had meant AlphaTauri chief race engineer Jonathan Eddolls confirmed that the team did have a special focus on the Mexico City circuit.
Source: Autosport