Gasly crashes in Belgian Grand Prix practice, Alpine reports extensive car damage
Pierre Gasly of Alpine experienced a significant crash during Free Practice 2 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, leading to a red flag. The incident occurred with just over 15 minutes remaining in the session on Friday. Gasly was able to exit his car without injury, but the vehicle sustained considerable damage, particularly to its rear wing.
Gasly described losing control of the car after a “big snap” on the exit of the left-hand Turn 13. He stated that it took a long time to regain control, and by then, he was already off the track, making it impossible to recover. The impact with the barrier ripped off the rear wing and caused extensive damage to other parts of his Alpine.
Despite the crash, Gasly commented that it had been a productive day of testing overall, with many different components evaluated across both Alpine cars. He indicated that the team would need to analyze the data to determine the best settings for the upcoming sessions. He also expressed confidence that the team would repair the car for Saturday’s events and focus on aiming for a top 10 finish.
Alpine’s Assessment and Weekend Outlook
Steve Nielsen, Alpine’s Managing Director, confirmed that Gasly was unharmed, but the car was not. He noted that the team had already planned to change the Power Unit (PU) on Gasly’s car that night, meaning a portion of the repair work was already scheduled. Nielsen assured that the team would be ready for Saturday, despite the extended workload for the mechanics.
Nielsen explained that the morning session was dedicated to data accumulation rather than lap times, focusing on aero performance. In FP2, the team shifted its focus to outright lap times. He mentioned that Gasly had set a competitive time, but it was deleted due to track limits at Turn 4. Nielsen also observed that the car appeared to have more pace at Spa compared to the previous races and emphasized the importance of maintaining that performance into Saturday.
Other teams also shared their experiences from Friday’s practice sessions. Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets in FP2, demonstrating strong pace on both medium and soft tires. His teammate, George Russell, finished eighth in both sessions and reported issues with the car’s balance and grip levels in FP1, which improved after changes were made for FP2.
Competitors’ Performances and Challenges
McLaren faced challenges, with Oscar Piastri experiencing a hydraulics issue in FP1 that limited his track time in FP2. Lando Norris, who finished second fastest in FP2, will incur a 10-place grid penalty for the race due to exceeding his permitted number of power electronics units. Norris noted that while the one-lap pace seemed reasonable, the car was still difficult to drive.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped FP1 and finished third in FP2. He reported a good balance in his car and focused on fine-tuning. Verstappen, along with other drivers, commented on the energy-hungry nature of the Spa circuit, which causes cars to lose electrical energy on the straights, a phenomenon known as “clipping.” Isack Hadjar, also from Red Bull, will face a grid penalty this weekend.
The competitive landscape appears tight, with teams working to optimize their setups overnight. Red Bull is also addressing a mechanical issue with their rear wing, which caused problems in previous races, and hopes to have a revised version ready for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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Source: formula1.com
