Franco Colapinto admitted Alpine’s decision to gamble on dry tyres at Sepang failed to pay off after the Malaysian circuit dried far more slowly than expected. The Argentine finished 13th in the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, while team-mate Pierre Gasly endured an equally difficult afternoon in 16th.
The result left Alpine without points for a second consecutive race and represented another setback in its battle with Racing Bulls for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Alpine misses points for a second consecutive race
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia had appeared to offer Alpine the ideal opportunity to move on from what happened in Baku, where Franco Colapinto’s major mistake resulted in retirement for the Argentine, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris because of the damage sustained by their cars.
Instead, things again went wrong for the French team at Sepang, although this time for very different reasons.
Both Alpine drivers once again finished outside the points, unlike their direct Racing Bulls rivals in the fight for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. The main obstacle on this occasion was the weather.
Franco Colapinto admits slick tyre gamble was wrong
A heavy downpour before the race forced the start to be delayed, after which Franco Colapinto elected to begin on dry-weather tyres. The Argentine later admitted that the gamble had been the wrong decision.
“It’s a shame how the race played out,” Franco Colapinto explained after finishing 13th. “Given my position on the grid and the uncertainty around the rain, I was in the ideal situation to take that kind of risk with the tyres.”
Franco Colapinto believed the conditions could move in Alpine’s favour and allow him to make progress, particularly with high air temperatures and Sepang’s relatively abrasive asphalt.
“Looking at the conditions at the start, I thought we could use them to our advantage and make up ground, but the track didn’t dry quickly enough and we lost a lot of time. It surprised me, and others as well, that the track took so long to dry.”
“With the high air temperatures and the rather rough asphalt surface, we expected the conditions to evolve quickly in our favour, but in the end that wasn’t the case. The track didn’t look very wet, but the asphalt was slippery and offered very little grip.”
With hindsight, Franco Colapinto accepted that Alpine had made the wrong call. However, the Argentine was encouraged by the pace he showed once conditions became suitable for slick tyres.
“In hindsight it wasn’t the right decision, but after that we did our best to recover. The race pace on the dry tyres was excellent and that is encouraging for the next races, where we will need to deliver solid and consistent performances as a team to try to reduce the gap in the standings.”
“That objective is still within our reach, given the number of races remaining.”
The wider championship picture can be followed in the latest Formula 1 standings, with Alpine still attempting to recover ground in the closing stages of the season.
Pierre Gasly says Alpine gamble ‘didn’t pay off’
Pierre Gasly reached a similar conclusion after a disappointing 16th-place finish. The Frenchman also came close to retiring before the race had even started after spinning during the two formation laps.
“It was a tough day, one of those where things can go either way. Clearly, they didn’t go our way,” Pierre Gasly said.
“After the start was suspended there was a long wait and we decided to start on Soft tyres. The choice made sense to all of us and I agreed with it.”
Pierre Gasly admitted he had a major scare while trying to generate tyre temperature before the start.
“I took a big risk during the formation lap while trying to warm up the tyres, but I managed to keep control and stay on the track.”
Like Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly found that the circuit remained too wet for the strategy to work as intended.
“It was a gamble that didn’t pay off: the track was too wet and took too long to dry. As happened to others as well, we lost a lot of time on track.”
“At that point you have to choose whether to come in and change strategy or try to make the original plan work. We stuck with our strategy, but then everything seemed to go against us. There was no opportunity to exploit and, in the end, it was a painful day with a difficult result.”
Alpine targets a return to the points in Singapore
After another scoreless weekend, Alpine will analyse its decisions before heading to Singapore as it looks to revive its challenge for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
“We’ll analyse everything as a team, stay united and go to Singapore with the objective of getting back into the points,” Pierre Gasly said.
The French driver also praised Alpine’s mechanics after a demanding afternoon involving several pit stops.
“Finally, credit to the team in the pits. They had a busy afternoon with several stops and they did a great job.”
Alpine now moves on to the next event on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar needing a stronger and more consistent weekend if it is to close the gap in the Constructors’ Championship.
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