Alpine’s Pierre Gasly delivered a stunning performance in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, securing an impressive P5 on Saturday, which was later upgraded to P4 following grid penalties imposed on both Mercedes drivers. The Frenchman described his lap as “very special,” a breakthrough moment for Alpine, who have yet to score points in the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Gasly’s qualifying heroics at the Bahrain International Circuit saw him finish just 0.375 seconds off pole-sitter Oscar Piastri, a result that left him beaming with pride. “Honestly, that’s crazy,” Gasly said, reflecting on how close he came to the front-runners. “To be so close to pole and even P3 by just four-hundredths—it’s mad. It really shows the potential in the car, and I’m so happy for the team.”
The Alpine A525, which had shown flashes of promise during pre-season testing, finally translated that pace into a competitive grid position. Gasly’s lap was a testament to his skill and the team’s progress, especially after a challenging start to the season that saw them languishing at the bottom of the constructors’ standings.
Adding to Gasly’s delight, post-qualifying penalties for Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli reshuffled the grid. Both were handed one-place drops for leaving their garages too early during a red-flag period in Q2, caused by a crash from Haas driver Esteban Ocon. As a result, Russell fell from P2 to P3, and Antonelli from P4 to P5, promoting Gasly to the second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
“It’s a massive boost for us,” Gasly said of the revised starting position. “Starting P4 gives us a real shot at some good points tomorrow. We know the race pace of the cars around us will be strong, but we’ll fight with everything we’ve got.” He added with a grin, “If Lando [Norris] and Max [Verstappen] want to battle it out behind me for a few laps, that’d be great!”
Gasly’s performance was a standout in a mixed-up qualifying session that saw championship leader Lando Norris struggle to P6 and reigning champion Max Verstappen line up in P7 after battling brake issues. Alpine’s resurgence also extended to Gasly’s teammate Jack Doohan, who qualified inside the top 10, further signaling the team’s potential to turn their season around.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Gasly remained optimistic but realistic. “We expected to be around P9 or P10, so to be here is incredible,” he said. “The car felt great, but we know the race is a different challenge. I’m just excited to get out there and see what we can do.”