Alpine's Mediocre Showing in Belgium: A Point Scored, But Work Remains
Alpine managed to grab a single point at the Belgian Grand Prix, yet Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto aren't satisfied with their car's performance. The team now finds itself tied with Racing Bulls in the championship standings, needing further upgrades to maintain competitiveness.
Alpine's latest outing at the Belgian Grand Prix left drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto less than thrilled, despite Colapinto securing a solitary point by finishing 10th at Spa-Francorchamps. While this result kept Alpine neck-and-neck with Racing Bulls in the midfield battle, the drivers are clearly underwhelmed by their current machinery.
The season began promisingly for Alpine, with strong performances in the early rounds, including a podium finish for Gasly in Monaco. However, as rival teams like Racing Bulls have introduced upgrades, Alpine's pace has faltered, leaving them tied with Racing Bulls on 61 championship points.
Colapinto was pragmatic about the weekend's outcome: "Scoring a point in these conditions and finishing ahead of an Audi and a Racing Bulls car is more than we expected, but we need to improve. The car is just too slow right now, and we're losing time in certain corners compared to others," he admitted.
Despite a strong start to the race, Colapinto found himself trailing Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad, but managed to get the better of Liam Lawson, breaking Racing Bulls' streak of scoring with both cars. His hard-fought point was a small consolation, as he finished just 0.9 seconds ahead of Gasly and 1.4 seconds clear of Lawson.
Gasly, on the other hand, endured a weekend to forget. After crashing on Friday and nearly stalling at the start of the race, his troubles continued with a poor pit stop. He spent much of the race stuck in a back-and-forth battle with Lawson, ultimately finishing outside the points.
"It was frustrating," Gasly said, reflecting on his race. "I had no power at the start and lost positions, then a bad pit stop put us back again. We were just not competitive enough, especially compared to Audi and the others ahead."
Gasly was blunt about the team's current state: "It's not good enough." With Alpine not yet announcing when their next major upgrade will arrive, Gasly's frustrations are understandable. However, Colapinto remains optimistic that the Hungaroring's slower corners might play to their strengths.
The Hungarian Grand Prix is just days away, providing Alpine a chance to see if their car can indeed perform better in different conditions. As the championship battle heats up, the team will be hoping for a turnaround to stay competitive in the midfield race.