The lead-up to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was anything but smooth for Alpine, which found itself in the spotlight due to two major changes within the team: the sudden resignation of Oliver Oakes, who left his role as Team Principal and has now been replaced by Flavio Briatore, and the expected return to F1 of Franco Colapinto in place of Jack Doohan.
A disappointing return
However, the Argentine’s performance in Imola fell short of expectations, both in qualifying and the race. In the battle for pole, car #43 crashed into the barriers at the Tamburello chicane in Q1 and started 16th. The former Williams driver crossed the finish line in the same position: “We had good pace, but were a bit unlucky with our strategy and, in the end, it wasn’t the result the team wanted – he commented – I think we had good pace at the beginning of the race. The medium tyre lasted very long and we were planning to go for a one-stop, at least until the VSC came out a few laps after my stop. That put me in a very difficult situation, already with eight laps on the hard tyres when the Safety Car came out, and then I struggled to keep up with the others on fresh tyres. We had good rhythm in the car and learned a lot, collecting more valuable data for the team. I think better tracks are ahead, especially Monaco. It’s a place that demands a lot of confidence. I haven’t achieved that yet, but I’m learning more every time I’m in the car, so I’ll build on it and I’m looking forward to next weekend.”
Early-race error
Both Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly finished outside the points. Gasly, unlike his new teammate, managed to reach Q3 and stayed in the top 10 after the start, but dropped back after a wheel-to-wheel battle with Leclerc that forced him into the gravel at Piratella: “Personally I’m not happy with my race because I made a costly mistake and I know that shouldn’t happen – he admitted – I had a good start, up to ninth, and then had to fight hard with Charles. I thought I could go a bit wide into Turn 9 with Charles coming on the inside. I spun, had no grip, missed the corner, and that cost me five positions. We opted for a two-stop strategy, which seemed right, and we probably would have fought with the one-stoppers towards the end. The late Safety Car gave those ahead a free pit stop and in the end, we didn’t have enough tyre life to reach the points. Overall, we showed good pace throughout the weekend. I felt good in the car on single-lap pace. Next week, we know how important qualifying is, and we hope to capitalise on some of our strengths.”
All eyes on Monaco
Alpine now looks ahead to the next round in Monaco with greater confidence, starting with Flavio Briatore: “We were set for a good result and had the chance to score points before the Virtual Safety Car. In particular with Franco, we had planned a one-stop strategy to the end, and with the field neutralised, others essentially got a free pit stop. That’s racing, and the final classification doesn’t reflect what we could have achieved today. Next up is Monaco, one of my home races, and a track where we will again have a chance to compete.”
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