Pierre Gasly believes Max Verstappen is firmly back in contention at the front of Formula 1, with the Alpine driver highlighting the Dutchman's resurgence as one of the reasons why the battle between the leading teams has become increasingly exciting. However, the Frenchman has also raised concerns about the significant gap separating the top four teams from the rest of the grid.

Gasly welcomes Verstappen's return to the fight

Speaking to GPblog and other media ahead of the United States Grand Prix weekend in Austin, Gasly was asked whether Formula 1's major regulation overhaul failed to bring the field closer together, given that the gap between the leading teams and the midfield remains substantial.

The Frenchman acknowledged that new regulations tend to increase the differences between teams initially, before the field gradually converges as everyone develops their cars and gains a better understanding of the rules.

However, Gasly believes the competition at the front of the grid is already providing plenty of entertainment, particularly with Verstappen once again playing a prominent role.

"If I look at the top four, as a motorsport fan, it's quite exciting. At the moment, we had McLaren winning, Ferrari winning at some point, but Max is back. Mercedes is very competitive. So from that front, I think it's quite tight," Gasly explained.

The four-time world champion arrives in Austin following consecutive Grand Prix victories in Malaysia and Singapore, having also won the Sprint at Marina Bay.

Photo: Race Pictures

Gasly concerned about growing gap between F1 teams

Despite welcoming the increasingly competitive battle at the front, Gasly believes Formula 1 still has work to do to bring the midfield closer to the leading teams.

"Now it's just the gap between these top teams and the midfield, which is, at the moment, in my opinion, too big. And there is kind of, like, two leagues within the same league," he continued.

"At the end of the day, I don't want to complain about that because it's down to us to do a better job and deliver a better performance, and that's what we're going to focus on."

He also suggested that the differences between teams could gradually decrease as the current regulations mature, pointing to the tendency for gaps to widen following major technical changes before narrowing over subsequent seasons.