Pierre Gasly followed up his podium in Sao Paulo with an impressive qualifying lap to take third for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

No one expected Alpine to repeat their heroics in Brazil, but they gave themselves the chance to do just that, with Gasly only surpassed by Carlos Sainz and polesitter George Russell.

How Pierre Gasly shocked the world in Las Vegas

While the pace of Russell and Sainz was expected, Pierre Gasly and the Alpine team were the positive surprise of the qualifying session in Las Vegas.

The team from Enstone has found a lot of momentum since the last Brazilian GP, ​​but what were Alpine’s secrets to staying ahead of the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris?

Gasly took third place in qualifying, surprising big names such as Charles Leclerc, Verstappen and Norris in his final Q3 attempt, but it was a result that did not come completely out of the blue. The French driver became increasingly stronger throughout the session and already hinted in Q2 that his lap times had to be taken seriously.

However, it was in the closing stages of Q3 when the Alpine driver made everyone at home and rose from their seats in the Las Vegas grandstands as he managed to provisionally reach P2 behind Carlos Sainz. George Russell improved his time again and took pole, but Gasly’s job was already well done.

What made Alpine as competitive in Las Vegas as last year, when the French driver qualified P5? Let’s analyze the telemetry data of his lap with that of Verstappen and Russell to understand.

Gasly’s lap was spectacular. Without a small correction that cost him between +0.3 and +0.4 seconds in Turn 3, he could probably have even fought with Sainz for P2.

The Alpine was the fastest car on the circuit today with low downforce and in Gasly’s case in Q3 the help of the slipstreaming effect of Sainz, who finished the lap just a few seconds ahead of him. But this low downforce setup also ensured that the car was sufficiently competitive in the low-speed corners.

In Sector 2, the slowest of the three sectors on the Las Vegas street circuit, Gasly was only +0.083 seconds slower than Russell. The biggest loss occurred in the first sector due to a mistake that caused him to lose grip before the straight between turns 4 and 5.

Compared to Verstappen we see again that the mistake in Turn 3 was very damaging in terms of lap time.

But nevertheless, the difference in straight line speed, not only in top speed but also in acceleration due to Alpine’s much lower drag package and very acceptable braking and low speed performance, allowed Gasly to stay ahead of the Dutch driver.

Despite the lower track temperatures than in 2023, the evolution of the cars has been remarkable for four teams in particular: McLaren which saw both cars eliminated in Q1 in Las Vegas in 2023, VCARB with a surprising performance from Yuki Tsunoda, Mercedes took pole with George Russell and Gasly with his great P3.

More from qualifying in Las Vegas

F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between teammates

Las Vegas GP: George Russell storms to pole position after Colapinto’s huge crash

Carlos Sainz came close to pole for Ferrari, but couldn’t beat Russell, who, like Gasly, has been in great form all weekend. Saturday will be an interesting day with tire management and great overtaking ability on the long straights of Las Vegas.

Naturally, the podium seems too ambitious a goal for Alpine, but maintaining P6 in the Constructors’ World Championship against Haas and VCARB before reaching the final two races seems entirely possible given how well the Alpine A524 performs at this track.

The Enstone-based team has done a great job of finding the sweet spot of their setup and the optimal life of their tires, which, in a race where graining problems are expected, is crucial to have confidence in the strategy and opportunities that may arise during the 50 lap race.

Read the following: Winners and losers of qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix