- Gasly is currently beating Verstappen in qualifying head-to-head so far
- Red Bull lacks pace compared to rivals
- Gasly’s performances are going under the radar
Verstappen’s qualifying crash in Melbourne
Max Verstappen’s challenge for the WDC towards the end of the 2025 season will seem like a world away with the troubles he and his team are facing. In the season opener at Albert Park, Verstappen crashed out in Q1, unable to even attempt to challenge his competitors. Aside from the fact that he couldn’t set a qualifying time, it was quite a contrast to previous seasons, in which Hadjar would qualify P3 while Verstappen was down and out.
Pierre Gasly’s first qualifying of the season wasn’t anything special; the real moment of opportunity came in the race, where Gasly managed to score a point for his team. Something Alpine struggled with a lot in 2025. Gasly scored all of his team’s points last year and began on a positive note in 2026 with the one point in Melbourne. Regardless, Gasly’s P14 put him above Verstappen in Australia.
Gasly’s impressive sprint qualifying in Shanghai
Alpine had reason to celebrate with Gasly’s P7, showing some pace against the usual front-runners. Gasly was likely surprised that he found himself above Verstappen at the end of sprint qualifying. The Frenchman said in an interview, “I must say I’m extremely pleased with that, especially after last week.”
The Chinese sprint qualifying really highlighted Red Bull’s pace struggles, as Verstappen could only manage P8 and Isack Hadjar P10. The gap between Verstappen and Gasly was almost four tenths of a second, almost two seconds to Russell on pole. The fact that Verstappen wasn’t closer to Leclerc, who rounded up the top six with a 1:32.5, would cause Red Bull major concern.
If qualifying behind Gasly and in P8 in sprint qualifying wasn’t cause for concern, then a second time in the GP qualifying was. This time, closer to Gasly, in and around two tenths, the gap to pole was still quite big.
What does this mean for Gasly and Verstappen?
For the third time in three races, sprint included, Gasly topped Verstappen. For Gasly, another impressive outing tomorrow would really draw attention to his performances, with more whispers behind his name. If Verstappen can do what he usually does best and close that gap to the top teams, maybe just maybe, he’ll reduce the pressure mounting on his team.
