Gasly jealous of Norris and Verstappen but delighted for F1: 'I'm enjoying

Alpine were hoping for a better season. They currently sit ninth in the Formula 1 Constructors' Championship, ahead of only Sauber. Eighth-placed Williams remain within touching distance with just six race weekends remaining. There has also been some turmoil off track for Alpine. They've had another change of team principal, and there's a debate about whether or not to stop building their own F1 engines.

The French team had aspired to be at the top of Formula 1 but instead have to watch on from afar. Still, the Frenchman enjoys watching and is glad an intense battle can happen in Formula 1. "Well, first of all, I wish I'd be part of it," Gasly laughed. "But then, as a fan of the sport, I think it's great. I think F1 is in a very good spot at the minute," believes the Frenchman, who has only scored eight points this season.

His former team, Red Bull Racing, are fighting with McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. "I'm really enjoying the four-team battle because that's how I think the sport should be. Having three, four-teams fighting for race wins every weekend, everybody enjoys that. As a sport, I think it's great," Gasly reiterated.

Gasly hopes for a more level playing field in 2026

So finally - in the third year after a major rule change - what was hoped for beforehand has happened: A field that is close together but not everyone has been able to catch up. "Somehow, new regulations were made to put the whole field closer. It did put the first four closer, but there's still quite a big gap with the midfield. But, yeah, definitely as a sport, I think we're heading in the right direction. Hopefully, ‘26 is not going to split that too much."

This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen