Gasly: “With the car we have, we shouldn’t be finishing this far back”

Still on the margins of the standings

Considering Oscar Piastri’s retirement on the first lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Alpine cannot be satisfied with their result in Baku. The French team finished last and second-to-last in the race, respectively with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.

Always 18th

Another setback for the team and both drivers, starting with Pierre Gasly, the only driver who has brought the team into the points this season but has not reached the top 10 since the Hungarian Grand Prix. Starting from 18th on the grid, the Frenchman finished 18th once again: “It was a very difficult day and not a positive one for us as a team,” he said. “We lacked pace throughout the weekend. This circuit proved more challenging than recent races, and we need to learn the lesson because, even with the car we have, we shouldn’t be finishing this far back. We have some ideas about the areas where we are lacking and need to improve, but here something didn’t work, which has been a trend over the past few weekends. At the moment, I don’t feel comfortable in the car as I did at the start of the season, so that’s something we need to change. This is the package we have, and I know we will sit down together, work hard, and aim to come back stronger at the next race.”

Mistakes in qualifying and the race

The weekend was even more complicated for Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, who, after making an error in qualifying, raised doubts and speculation about his future away from Alpine: “First of all, thanks to the entire team who worked hard to prepare the car and get it ready for the race. It was a huge effort from everyone and shows the team’s cohesion even in difficult moments. It was a shame we couldn’t reward them with a good result. We knew it would be a difficult race for the team, and it was. With the current package, everything needs to go perfectly and luck must be on our side, but it didn’t. I did my best and had a good start. After the first stop, I battled with Albon and ended up spinning, losing a lot of time. After the incident, the car felt different, possibly damaged, which affected the rest of the race. We need to continue working hard in the upcoming races and make the most of them.”