Pierre Gasly holds off Verstappen for P7 at Suzuka for Alpine

Pierre Gasly fended off relentless pressure from Max Verstappen to secure seventh at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, a result he linked to what he called perhaps the best car he has driven. The Alpine driver kept the Red Bull behind after a safety car restart and brought home points that matched the team’s improved form.

Gasly said the race split into two parts. He felt comfortable early on the medium tires and kept a steady pace while the field settled. The second half was tighter on the hard compound as Verstappen closed in. Gasly managed his final stints to protect traction and top speed, and he picked his moments to push and to save. That balance let him cover the late attacks and control the exits that fed into Suzuka’s main straight.

Data and the on-track picture showed a seesaw fight. The Alpine looked stronger on the main straight at times and through the final chicane, where Gasly could reset the gap and deny a lunge into Turn 1. The Red Bull held better pace in other sectors and closed through the middle of the lap. Verstappen tried a different power deployment pattern to set up passes, changing how he used energy across the lap, but he could not make it stick. Each run through the chicane and onto the straight put the Alpine in position to defend again.

The finish capped a weekend of clear progress for Alpine. Setup changes reduced the understeer that had hurt balance earlier in the year. The car responded well on a track that exposes weak points, and the baseline felt more predictable across practice and into qualifying. Gasly lined up seventh on the grid after another strong Saturday, his third straight appearance in Q3. The improved balance showed up in both tire compounds and through Suzuka’s high-speed sections, where confidence on turn-in and stability on exit helped him hold track position.

Seventh at the flag delivered valuable points and moved Alpine to fifth in the standings, level on points with Red Bull. For a team that faced a hard season last year, the weekend marked a step forward in both raw pace and race execution. Gasly’s controlled defense against Verstappen matched the setup gains seen across the sessions and turned them into a result. The lap-time trend, the straight-line strength at key moments, and the consistent qualifying form point to a car that now gives its driver the tools to fight. Alpine leaves Suzuka with momentum and a clearer direction on what works, helped by a package Gasly rated as perhaps the best of his career.