Alpine targets a stronger weekend in Canada
Alpine is ready to return to action after a mixed weekend in Miami, where Pierre Gasly was forced to retire while Franco Colapinto secured a points finish. The Enstone-based team will now aim to place both drivers inside the top 10 in Canada, with the Sprint format potentially offering another major opportunity in a season where the French squad has established itself as one of the strongest midfield contenders.
Here is what Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto had to say ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly’s thoughts ahead of Canada
After the break, the French driver says he is fully ready to get back behind the wheel.
“I definitely feel ready to get back on track and go racing again this weekend. Obviously, my weekend in Miami ended in a disappointing way, and that is certainly not how anyone would want to finish a Grand Prix, but fortunately I am okay thanks to the extremely high safety standards in Formula 1.
“Since then, I have had a couple of intense weeks, during which I drove on some of the circuits that once hosted the French Grand Prix, which is always a very special experience for many different reasons. I drove the 1979 Renault F1 car, the RS10, at Circuit Paul Ricard during the Grand Prix Historique, which was a fantastic and quite emotional event. That car won the 1979 French Grand Prix with Jean-Pierre Jabouille, and it was wonderful to have his son Victor there watching me complete some demonstration laps.”
Pierre Gasly also revealed that Alpine has spent time investigating some of the issues he experienced in Miami.
“In Miami, I did not feel completely comfortable in the car, so we spent some time trying to understand why. I think we now have some answers and some directions to explore in Canada. The goal is to keep the momentum going as a team and score as many points as possible in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix. I am ready and really looking forward to getting back out there.”
Franco Colapinto aiming for another top result
The Argentine driver wants to return to the points after a very encouraging Miami weekend, where his connection with the Alpine package appeared particularly strong.
“I am happy to be racing in Canada, especially for another Sprint race weekend. I really want to build on the very positive weekend we had in Miami, with our top-10 finishes in both qualifying sessions and my best-ever Formula 1 result. It has now been a year since my first race with the team, and Miami showed that we are on the right path and that we have started the season in the right way.
“The circuit is a lot of fun, and finally it is a track where I have raced before, with long high-speed straights but also tight corners and chicanes where you get incredibly close to the walls. It is great for the adrenaline!
“This will be our third Sprint event of the season, and as always, time in the car is the most important thing. We will all work hard to maintain the positive momentum we have inside the team and target another strong weekend.”
The contrasting mindsets of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto perfectly mirror the razor-thin margins and intense psychological pressures that govern the Formula 1 midfield. While Gasly is desperate to put his bruising Miami crash behind him and uncover the missing setup sweet spot of his aerodynamic package, Colapinto enters Montreal riding a wave of peak driving confidence. Navigating a restrictive Sprint weekend on a low-grip, concrete-lined circuit like the Île Notre-Dame leaves absolutely zero room for operational errors. If the Enstone engineering department can successfully apply the technical lessons learned during their recent factory reviews, Alpine possesses the operational sharpness and mechanical traction needed to fend off its immediate midfield rivals and secure a vital double-points haul under the Canadian sun.
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