Alpine weekend review: Franco Colapinto close to points, Pierre Gasly disappointed at Zandvoort. Alpine failed to score points at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Alpine crisis continues: Franco Colapinto narrowly misses points

Both Alpine drivers finished outside the top 10, with Pierre Gasly 17th and Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto achieving his best result of the season in 11th place.

The return of Formula 1 after the summer break brought no real changes for Alpine, which, just like at the previous round in Hungary (as well as other weekends this season), finished the Dutch Grand Prix without scoring any points. So far, the only Alpine driver to reach the top 10 this season has been Pierre Gasly, but at Zandvoort his teammate came very close to completing the mission he has been pursuing since joining Enstone to replace Jack Doohan.

Small improvements

Franco Colapinto, originally 12th across the finish line, moved up to 11th after Andrea Kimi Antonelli received a 15-second time penalty, putting him just outside the points. Even without the penalty, it would still have been the best result for the 22-year-old since joining Alpine. “We were very close to scoring points as a team,” he said. “It was a race where we had to be alert and ready to seize every opportunity. It was a fun race where I felt I drove well, and it’s my best result of the season. As a team, there are moments in the race we will review to see what we could have done better. In the end, we decided to pit for Soft tyres during the last Safety Car to try and attack the cars ahead of us and aim for the points. We were very close, just a little short at the end. There are many positives to take from this weekend. Qualifying performance was better, I feel other things are coming together, and I can’t wait to return to Monza next weekend, the track where I made my F1 debut last year.”

The strategic error

Gasly, on the other hand, had a disappointing race. Mainly due to a late strategy mistake, the Frenchman finished 17th, behind Antonelli and last of the running cars once the two Ferraris and Norris retired. Pierre Gasly will look to rebound at Monza this weekend, the circuit where he won his first and only F1 race in 2020 with AlphaTauri. “In the end, it was a very challenging race on many fronts, and we narrowly missed out on points as a team. We took a bit of a risk at the end to hold our position on track with used Hard tyres, and I tried to fight as much as possible with what I had. It didn’t work, although we fought hard. So, mixed feelings – sometimes these things work, sometimes they don’t. We will learn and move forward, trying to keep placing ourselves in these positions to fight for points. There were some good battles, and it’s always more fun when races are like this. Generally, we lack pace, we are still trying to improve everything we have, and we’ll return to Monza next weekend. It’s a place that gives me special memories.”