Gasly demands AlphaTauri continue to take Bahrain-style risks

Pierre Gasly has urged AlphaTauri to continue to take the risks deployed in Bahrain as he is convinced the team has a car that can "fight for the big points" this season.

Gasly qualified a surprise fifth for the season-opening race he started on the medium-compound tyres compared to those around him on softs in Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren duo Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris.

Unfortunately for Gasly, it was a gamble that failed to reap reward as an early clash with Ricciardo led to floor damage on the AT02 before retiring late on with a gearbox issue.

The French driver, however, is convinced it should remain the approach for future races - starting with this weekend's Emilia Romagna GP at Imola - as he is convinced the car has the potential to fight at the front of the midfield.

"From what we saw in Bahrain, it seems we have a package that will allow us to fight for the big points and there is no reason for that not to be the case for the coming races," said Gasly. “One example of the team’s confidence was the decision to tackle Q2 at Sakhir on the medium tyre as apart from us, there was only the two Mercedes and Max Verstappen who did it.

"It was a risk, but it proves our belief in our car and our performance level. Now I hope we will be able to do that again at other circuits.” Despite the apparent strengths of the car, Gasly is aware, however, that such risks can only be taken again in forthcoming races if the car continues to be developed.

"The team has worked hard since the first race, as there are still areas where we can improve, even if we are clearly on the pace at the moment," added Gasly.

"But this early in the season, we can expect everyone to make progress as they get to understand their cars better and how to optimise them. So, we have to work hard to keep moving forward."

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