Pierre Gasly says his final lap in Q3 was a special one as he secured third place on the grid for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Alpine scored a surprise double podium at the final race in Brazil, with Gasly third behind teammate Esteban Ocon in second. Although that result was achieved in wet conditions, Friday’s qualifying in Las Vegas took place in dry and cold temperatures, and Gasly excelled in his final lap, putting him in the top three, behind only George Russell and Carlos Sainz.

“It’s absolutely incredible as a team,” Gasly said. “We started Bahrain with both cars on the last row and suddenly the last few weeks have been quite a change. I’m very happy with the work the team has done in a season where everything seemed impossible, just to stay together and put some more performance into that car.

“Going into qualifying today I have to admit that we never thought we would actually get into the top three, but I managed to get a very special lap at the right time during that last set in Q3 and it is a very special round. nice surprise.”

Gasly says Alpine had a clear approach to the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, which has paid off so far, and that he was confident in his car’s handling from the start of the first practice session.

“We opted for quite an aggressive package in terms of downforce, so we have very little downforce on this circuit,” he explained. “We try to maximize the straight lines; we obviously make our lives a little more difficult in the corners.

“I think it is a challenging circuit. These are very cold conditions. It’s quite an outlier in the season. But since P1 I had a nice feeling in the car. P2 went well. P3 went well. And in that third quarter we managed to make it work with just one set of new tires as well.

“So there was definitely a good pace and for now I am very satisfied. Obviously it’s just about qualifying, but I think this is probably the first time I’ve qualified in the top three. It feels like it was a special event.”

Gasly has both Red Bulls, McLarens and Charles Leclerc behind him on the grid, and says he is not too focused on keeping them at bay, but instead wants Alpine’s sixth place in the constructors’ standings defend.

“That’s not really what I’m thinking about. I think we know where the goal is for us,” he said. “We are fighting against Haas and against the manufacturers.” Obviously what happened in that qualifying is amazing. It feels good to be in front of Max, McLaren and these guys, but at the end of the day it’s not our fight.

“So we’ll do our best tomorrow. It’s a challenge here in terms of grain formation, so we’ll make sure we do our homework tonight to maximize the chances tomorrow. But from P3 we certainly increase our chances of getting some good points.”