Pierre Gasly believes Alpine will take a step forward in the hierarchy
After a difficult start to the season, far from the goals set at the beginning of the year, Alpine seems to have awakened and regained the pace it was lacking. Now, Pierre Gasly and his team hope to be able to compete for a top 5 finish by the end of the year.
Alpine has had a more than complicated start to the year. The team’s performances have been disappointing in the first four races. In Azerbaijan, the failure was bitter with zero points scored and a pace displayed closer to the lower ranking teams than to the initial season goal of the top 4.
A disastrous start to the season
Laurent Rossi, CEO of the Alpine brand, had a major outburst the day before the Miami Grand Prix. He highlighted a lack of results and performance that, according to him, was unacceptable. Since then, the French team has been on a winning streak, with double finishes in the points.
The improvements made to the car have been very beneficial, with a regained pace and impressive progress in performance. Until the Monaco Grand Prix, where Esteban Ocon even got on the podium, representing the good momentum of the French team.
We have definitely taken a good step forward. […] I think we have the keys and the solutions to fight for the top 5 quite quickly,” Pierre Gasly confided.
A clear improvement
The Frenchman also commented on Alpine’s performance in Barcelona. Both drivers finished in eighth and tenth place. This represents the lowest number of points scored by the team since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
« I think we had the speed and pace to finish ahead of the Aston Martins. […] We need to be more consistent. But I think we managed to do it in qualifying as well as in the race. That’s a big positive », Pierre Gasly testified. « We need to show that we can maintain the good pace we have, no matter which circuit we go to. We have to go after that ».
The first objective for Alpine for the end of the season will be to maintain the fifth place in the constructors’ championship. This should be relatively easy as the French team has a 23-point lead over McLaren, with mediocre performances.
To reach higher, Alpine will have to offer performances more than convincing. The French currently have a sixty-point gap behind Ferrari, the fourth team in the ranking.
