Among McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, the only team still with zero points in the standings has made its mark. It may seem like a paradox, but it isn’t, because that zero in the Constructors’ Championship doesn’t reflect the true potential of the Enstone car, which – had it capitalized on some attainable opportunities, like in Australia or China – could be much higher in the rankings.
What the A525 has mostly lacked at the start of this season – despite having shown promise in testing in the upper midfield – is single-lap pace. That potential, which has partially emerged during races, has often been wasted due to poor qualifying results, a trait reminiscent of its predecessor.
That was the case again in Sakhir. Friday’s sessions didn’t reflect the car’s true potential, as on other tracks, it struggled to find the right direction during warm-up on the soft compound, proving more competitive on other tyres.
There were a few glimmers of hope and signs of competitiveness with Jack Doohan, who actually made a few errors in his lap, which still left room for optimism about reaching Q3. For this reason, Pierre Gasly himself, despite his position, had expressed cautious confidence heading into Saturday.
That step forward materialized, although it was hard to imagine it would be so substantial. Alpine figured out how to prepare and activate the soft tyres on a flying lap – precisely what was missing the day before – but there are also other interesting aspects worth noting.
Speaking to Sky after qualifying, Carlos Sainz said: “Did you see the Alpine? In some corners like Turn 6 and Turn 11, they’re as fast as McLaren – so in all those medium-high-speed corners. It’s impressive. Alpine says they’re missing three-tenths on the engine; if they had a Mercedes or Ferrari power unit, you’d have a car on the front row.”
Indeed, data from Turn 6 puts it very close to the MCL39, especially in the middle of the sequence, as well as in Turn 11 – a section where McLaren stood out in qualifying. It confirms that the Alpine chassis, as suggested toward the end of 2024, has solid potential, despite having a rather narrow operating window.
“The car was really impressive, especially the front-end grip, which was very good. It’s nice when you’re the one driving the car and not the other way around. That hasn’t always been the case this season, but in the last few laps, we managed to hit the target, and it was a really special lap,” Pierre Gasly said after qualifying.
It’s no coincidence that the corners mentioned by Carlos Sainz – 6 and 11 – are exactly the ones where a well-balanced front end is needed to combat understeer, which is common here in Sakhir, where the rear tends to be protected.
“The front was very responsive in the fast zones, and the car was extremely good in Turn 11. The front end was really strong. Exiting the final corner, I knew I had positioned the car exactly how I wanted – and that hasn’t always been the case this year. I think the window is very narrow, but this time we managed to make everything work,” Pierre Gasly added, emphasizing how difficult it is to consistently find that ideal performance window with the A525.
Even during qualifying, the feeling wasn’t always the same: “Even yesterday, with the hards and mediums, we were fast, but when we switched to softs, we had absolutely no grip. The same thing happened in Q1, where I was sliding a lot.”
“This car has a narrow window. You really have to fine-tune every detail and find flow in everything you do inside the cockpit to get the most out of it. And that’s been pretty hard, to be honest. I didn’t feel comfortable, but then something clicked in Q2 and Q3, and we got a great result. I’m happy because it shows there’s potential in this car.”
Twelve months ago, at this very circuit for the season opener, Alpine qualified on the back row, held back by an overweight car lacking downforce and traction. A year later, on the same track, Alpine qualified fourth. It’s true that the second row – albeit on the dirty side of the grid – also came thanks to the penalty given to Andrea Kimi Antonelli for a Mercedes error, but the potential was still there for fifth place.
“I’m really happy. Twelve months ago we were way behind, twentieth. And seeing what we’ve been able to do today with this car makes me very, very happy and very proud of the work the guys have done so far,” Gasly concluded.
For the race, the goal is clear: move up the standings and score the first points. “We were expecting to qualify around ninth or tenth, but we did better. In the race, we’ll try to make the most of our starting position and expect a very different race compared to Suzuka. I don’t know where we’ll finish, but we’re definitely in the mix for points, and it’s important for the team to finally bring some results home.”
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