The Illusion
Alpine continues its difficult streak, once again finishing outside the points zone with both of its drivers at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix. The hope of finishing the race within the top ten for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix seemed to return with Pierre Gasly, who had qualified in Q3, but the French driver ultimately crossed the finish line in 13th place.
Unexplained Problems
This disappointing result stemmed from various difficulties that the former Red Bull driver did not specify in detail: “It was a very disappointing afternoon for the team,” Pierre Gasly admitted. “We need to understand and analyze many things because I felt a lack of grip throughout the entire race and really struggled during every stint. I am not sure why — maybe some damage to the car, maybe not — but we need to carefully analyze it because it was a very long afternoon and a frustrating result. The start was very good, as I was in sixth position at the end of the first lap. After that, there isn’t much to say except that it was a tough race. Now we move on to Silverstone for the Enstone team’s home race. It’s always a fantastic event, and I’m really looking forward to it, this time with the goal of recovering from this difficult weekend.”
Another Contact Incident with Yuki Tsunoda
The race also featured another collision involving an Alpine driver and Yuki Tsunoda. While the first incident happened at Monaco between the Japanese Red Bull driver and Pierre Gasly, this time Colapinto, Alpine’s other driver, collided with Tsunoda. This led to a 10-second time penalty and three FIA Super Licence penalty points for Tsunoda. The race was ruined for the Argentine driver Franco Colapinto, who finished 15th under the checkered flag and remains one of the only drivers yet to score points alongside Jack Doohan — the same driver he replaced starting from Imola.
“It was a hot and frustrating afternoon,” Franco Colapinto explained. “We had a good start, but during the race, we struggled with the car and its balance, which simply didn’t work for us as a team. We lacked pace and suffered more than usual with the tyres, which degraded heavily. Right now, we don’t know why, so we need to sit down together as a team and thoroughly review the situation. I had the collision with Yuki Tsunoda at Turn 4, which caused us to drop back and lose time. Yuki came over to apologize, but it’s a shame because the car felt different after the contact, potentially due to some damage. We have little time before Silverstone, so we’ll go back to the factory in Enstone to work hard with the aim of returning stronger for the team’s home race next weekend.”
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