Gasly left with 'fantastic feeling' after sampling Alpine A522

Pierre Gasly made the most of his debut with Alpine in Tuesday's post-season test in Abu Dhabi, concluding his day with a "fantastic feeling" after sampling the team's "impressive" 2022 car.

Gasly marked his public debut with the Enstone squad by setting the fourth quickest time behind a trio of Ferraris and ending the session under the floodlights just over 0.4s shy of pacesetter Carlos Sainz.

Overall, Gasly logged 130 laps of the Yas Marina track, which is the third greatest mileage of the day.

"It was a fantastic feeling to drive the A522 for the first time and I must say, it’s an impressive car," enthused the former AlphaTauri charger.

"The objectives for me today were all about getting used to my new surroundings, working closely with the engineers and, generally, building up my learning in the car and getting an understanding for its characteristics.

"We completed many laps – as per our plan – and I’m already very excited to fully embed myself in the team. I’m looking forward to visiting everyone at Viry and Enstone, debriefing on this test, before working towards our objectives alongside Esteban for the 2023 season."

• Read also: Sainz fastest as Ferrari trio tops Abu Dhabi post-season test

Alpine sporting director Alan Permane underscored the importance of Tuesday's test in the context of next year's limited pre-season testing.

"It was great to have Pierre in the car for the first time today as it’s very important for him to get up to speed quickly in order to hit the ground running in 2023," said the Briton.

"We have just three days of pre-season testing next season, so today’s test is particularly useful for us to complete some of the small but important tasks on any new driver checklist.

"Pierre’s day mainly consisted of familiarisation work and getting him used to the car and our systems as well as gaining a further understanding on Pirelli’s 2023 tyres.

"We know Pierre is a top-level driver and he did a very good job today to embed himself within the team."

Alpine's workload on the day with Pirelli was completed by Jack Doohan who racked up 111 laps and set the eleventh fastest time.

The Aussie was particularly happy to be able to put a full day of running under his belt rather than a 60-minute FP1 session.

"It’s been another good experience driving a Formula 1 car today and I’m very grateful to Alpine for this opportunity," commented Doohan.

"It’s been a busy day, plenty of laps, and a lot of new things to take on board, and I’m pretty pleased with how it’s progressed.

"Last weekend in Free Practice 1 was only one hour long, so to have a full day in the car is extremely useful as you can get a lot done in a less pressured environment."

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