15/03/2025
NEWS STORY
Pierre Gasly: "We have been trying to find our feet all weekend and today I am pleased with the end result with ninth place in Qualifying.
"I would say that was close to the maximum today after some impressive pace from some of our rivals. We focus on ourselves, though, and I am happy with the steps we have made session by session. We got there in the end and the car felt strong enough to take us to Q3. As always, we all want more but we have an eye on tomorrow with the threat of some rain in the race. We are in a decent spot on the grid to be in contention for points and we will give it our best to begin the season on a positive note."
Jack Doohan: "A good day today and a positive Qualifying. We were unfortunate to be caught out by the yellow flag at the end of Q2 but these things happen and our pace looked strong before that. We need to focus on what we can control and when we had the possibilities we delivered. We made some changes between Free Practice 3 and Qualifying, which meant I felt more comfortable in the car straight away. A huge thank you to the team, both trackside and back at Enstone and Viry who worked hard to get us in the right place. Now our focus shifts to tomorrow. The goal will be to maximise the opportunities that present themselves, especially with whatever the weather may bring. We will need to position ourselves well strategically to get the best chance to progress up the field. I am looking forward to taking in the experience, making the most of our package and enjoying the rest of the weekend in front of the home crowd."
Dave Greenwood, Racing Director: "We knew coming into the weekend that it would be extremely close and competitive, and that proved to be the case today with small margins covering the entire field. We had a productive Friday, and we are still exploring the envelope of the A525, which is the right thing to be doing at this point of the season. We have worked hard both at the track and back in Enstone and Viry overnight to optimise the car from this data. Today through Free Practice 3 and into Qualifying we have been able to concentrate on fine tuning the package. In Qualifying, Pierre carried on from where he left off last season and did well to get into Q3. Jack had a solid day and was evenly matched but was unfortunately caught out by the yellow flag in the last sector on his final run in Q2. We know we're in the mix in a tight midfield battle and with variable weather conditions expected tomorrow anything is possible, and we need to be there to capitalise on any opportunities that present themselves. It will be the same conditions for everyone and should make for an exciting Grand Prix."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Albert Park here.