Alpine's Colapinto and Gasly Optimistic After Strong SQ3 Showing in Miami

Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly are feeling optimistic as they head into the Miami Sprint, with both Alpine drivers securing spots in the top 10. Colapinto will kick off the Sprint from P8, matching his best-ever qualifying result, while Gasly lines up in P10. This marks the first time this season that both Alpine cars have made it to SQ3, a promising sign for the team.

Colapinto had a bit of a bumpy start, dealing with issues on his A526 during practice, but the team’s upgrades seem to have paid off. "I'm happy because we turned around something that was quite tough," Colapinto remarked after Sprint Qualifying. "We’re finally getting into the rhythm and understanding some of the pace that we lacked. It's all very positive today."

He noted the challenge of a Sprint weekend, where there’s less time to get things right, but remained upbeat. "It’s been a good break for us to reset and work in the right direction. The pace is looking strong compared to the midfield cars," he added, sounding cautiously optimistic.

Alpine has only achieved one double-points finish this season, during the Chinese Grand Prix, yet they sit comfortably joint fifth in the Constructors' standings, largely thanks to Gasly's consistent point-scoring efforts.

Gasly, however, was less satisfied with his performance, citing problems with wheelspin that have been plaguing him since the morning. "It has been very difficult since this morning," he said. "Something is not quite working on my side, and I'm having a lot of wheelspin. We didn’t have enough time to get to the bottom of it, but I think I'm going to struggle in the race as it stands."

Despite these challenges, Gasly is hopeful that the team can unlock more potential. "We managed to get the two cars in the top 10, which is good, but there’s a lot more potential to unlock," he concluded.

As the Miami Grand Prix weekend unfolds, all eyes will be on whether Alpine can convert their promising start into a successful race result.