Not every storyline out of Zandvoort was about the fight at the front. Further down the order, Pierre Gasly walked away from the race with a grudge against the Racing Bulls for deliberately blocking him and costing him valuable track position. What could have been a promising afternoon for the Alpine driver instead turned into a frustrating one. 

Gasly looked sharp all weekend as he qualified and finished the Sprint race in eighth place before qualifying in 11th place for the main race. He had a strong start to his race, but after his first pit stop was dropped behind Racing Bull’s Arvid Lindblad, where he was stuck for seven laps before attempting a move in Turn 11. 

However, the move did not materialize, and Gasly was overtaken by Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg. Yuki Tsunoda made a move on his former teammate into Turn 7. While Lindblad let his teammate through, it took Gasly 17 laps to get past the Racing Bulls of Lindblad. Forcing him to settle in the last points-earning place. While talking to Motorsports.com post-race, the No. 10 Alpine driver expressed his frustration. 

“VCARB ruined our race in the middle part of the race, played a team game for the championship, and did it well,” Gasly said during the interview with Motorsports.com. “I mean, it just made me lose a position to Nico and Tsunoda, and I don’t know how many seconds of race time. Congrats to them, and I can’t wait to race them.”

Expanding on his frustrations, Gasly further made it clear that it wasn’t just a passing complaint but rather had already set his sights on settling the score. 

“It’s just annoying, but it’s Zandvoort. Can’t really overtake, and this is going to change in the coming tracks. And good thing is I have a good memory, so I’m going to make sure we smile at the end of the year.”

This frustration ties into a bigger picture, as currently Alpine and Racing Bull are separated by just three points in the Formula One Constructors’ Championship, putting them in a tight fight where every point matters. 

Arvid Lindblad fires back at Pierre Gasly 

Gasly’s comments did not remain unanswered for long. Lindblad was questioned by Motorsports.com about his take on the whole incident. He did not shy away from expressing that he simply played the team game. 

“I don’t know,” Lindblad said in the aforementioned interview. “Yeah, that’s a nice story. In the end, yeah, I played the team game. I don’t know.” 

Lindblad further addressed Gasly’s comments about his approach moving forward. 

“If he has a good memory, then fine,” the 19-year-old added. “In the end, we all fight as hard as we can every weekend. I tried to help the team where I could. The reality was, my race, I wasn’t really in it anymore, so yeah, I did what I could to help the team.” 

Ironically, the strategy rewarded Racing Bulls with nothing, as both Tsunoda and Lindblad finished 11th and 12th, respectively. 

It will be interesting to see how Gasly and Lindblad approach the upcoming race weekends.