Gasly: Dutch GP podium proves Alpine 'going in the right direction'

Pierre Gasly claimed his second top-three finish in as many races on Sunday, the Alpine driver following up his third place in Spa's sprint event last month with a proper podium in the Dutch Grand Prix after a spirited drive in challenging conditions.

Gasly overcame an in-race five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane to finish fourth on the road, but an identical offense handed to Sergio Perez demoted the Red Bull driver from third to fourth in the final standings.

For Gasly, the encouraging result was a welcome one for Alpine, a team embroiled in potentially disruptive management changes this summer.

The Frenchman hailed the Enstone squad's performance, insisting it proved that the outfit was moving in the right direction and making progress.

• 2023 Dutch Grand Prix - Race results

"We need to keep working, keep improving the car and work this way until the end of the year," he told French broadcaster Canal+ after the race.

"I'm glad to see that things are falling into place within the team, we're learning to work better and better together. It's going in the right direction, and we proved it again today."

While Gasly never put a foot wrong in the race – save for his pitlane transgression – his decision to pit at the end of the first lap for a switch to the inters when the rain set in also proved well-inspired.

"We had to make extremely important decisions," he said. "Coming out of the last corner on lap one, I immediately understood that there was a big opportunity for us, so I asked the team to pit straightaway, and it paid off.

"Then, we had a car that worked well today; I managed to fight with the Ferrari, to stay rather close to Alonso.

"Many things happened, but you had to stay calm. I am really happy with the team's work and what they achieved."

On the other side of the Alpine garage, Esteban Ocon also enjoyed a solid drive through the field from P16 on the grid to the race's final point, making it a double top-ten finish for the French outfit.

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