Alpine Driver Pierre Gasly Praises Imola Grand Prix Practice Sessions

After a tumultuous few weeks for the Alpine team, marked by the resignation of team boss Oliver Oakes and the announcement of a mid-season driver swap, Pierre Gasly shone on the first day of practice at the Imola GP. The French driver’s time of 1m15.569s placed him third in the second session, just under three tenths off the pace set by the leading McLaren pair.

A Promising Start Amid Challenges

It’s been a very, very good Friday,” Gasly told Sky TV after the second practice session in Italy. “From the first lap, I could tell the car was in a much better place than in Miami. I’m glad we managed to answer some of the question marks we had after the last race.” He added that it was probably the best Friday so far this year.

Despite the narrow and unforgiving nature of the Italian circuit, Gasly felt more comfortable pushing his A525 to its limits. However, the first day wasn’t without incident.

Wildlife Interference Disrupts Practice Session

In the day’s earlier session, Gasly had an unexpected encounter with wildlife. A rabbit ran onto the track during FP1, causing a collision that reportedly damaged his car and impacted his running for the session.

I couldn’t tell if it was a small cat or a big rabbit,” Gasly said. “It turned out to be a big rabbit jumping across the track. I couldn’t avoid it, so I had quite a big impact on the front wing.” The collision caused significant damage to the floor and front wing of his car.

Despite this setback, Gasly managed to log 21 laps over the course of first practice and recorded a best time of 1m16.696s – good enough for sixth place. Stay tuned for the latest F1 Imola Grand Prix news, expert analysis, photos, and videos.