Pierre Gasly heads into his fifth full season of Formula One as team leader at AlphaTauri.

The Frenchman scored a podium at last year’s wild Azerbaijan Grand Prix on his way to P9 in the Drivers’ Championship, scoring 110 points.

Gasly is fully aware of the big challenge the teams face to build the best car for the new technical regulations, and expects 2022 to be full of surprises.

“I think we will have to tackle it with an open mind, being ready for any eventuality,” he said as the AT03 was launched. 

“It's a fresh start for all the teams, starting pretty much from zero as we are really looking at a clean sheet of paper scenario.

“It will be a big challenge for the teams to work out how to build the best car possible to comply with the new regulations. I hope that it works really well for us. I have no doubts about our team's abilities and, as of now, they are quite pleased with the work they have done.

“Like everyone, they've been working on it for many months now, but it's difficult to have an idea of what we can expect until the car goes out on track in Barcelona for the first time. Then we will get an idea of how the car behaves and how we look compared to the others.

“I'm sure this season will be full of surprises.”

Gasly secured nine top six finishes last year as he scored the vast majority of AlphaTauri’s points following the struggles of his rookie teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

It meant AlphaTauri finished P6 in the Constructors’ Championship, 13 points behind Alpine.

The Frenchman’s aim in 2022 is to regularly finish in the top five if he has the package to do so, but is aware that any scenario is possible. 

“My approach will be the same as the one I adopted last year,” he said.

“I will be trying to build on the run I had of very good results and to continue to be on top of my game with the car I have.

“I really hope that this is a year when I can fight at the very front, to finish regularly in the top five and even higher if the car is good enough for that. We must be prepared to deal with whatever situations arise.”

“So, mentally I’ve prepared myself to deal with any possible scenario and personally, I will be pushing the team to always do its best. Last year we came very close to fifth place in the Constructors’ and it would be super to achieve that this year.”

“It’s too early to say if that will be possible but I will always give it my best shot and get the most out of our car.”

I’m loving it - our new AT03!! pic.twitter.com/debBLI85Fk

— PIERRE GASLY 🇫🇷 (@PierreGASLY) February 14, 2022