Team Talk – Sunday in Mexico City

Alpine

Pierre Gasly

“That was a very difficult race for us as a team and we have a lot to review. After a decent start, we fell back to where we started and began managing the Medium tyre. We decided to stop quite early for Soft and had a lot of degradation, which meant a very long and challenging second stint. We will review everything but, fundamentally, we lacked performance here in Mexico City. It is a unique track but I am sure there are a few things we can do better.

"Hopefully we can improve for São Paulo even if the recent trend for us has been difficult. I am still motivated, we're all doing our best and pushing one another and we just need to try and maximise everything we have in our hands for the remainder of the season.”

Franco Colapinto

“Other than the promising pace we showed in the last stint on the Soft tyres with lower fuel, it was a long and lonely afternoon for us. We went long on the Hards to start, aiming to capitalise on any potential opportunities, and we lacked a bit of pace to really stay in the mix. There's not much else to elaborate on or takeaway from this weekend, which has been a difficult one for the team. We will keep learning, keep fighting and hope to be more competitive in Brazil.

"I'm excited to be going back to São Paulo to race in front of the South American fans. Last year there were a lot of emotions that weekend for various reasons and this year I want to go and enjoy it and look forward to seeing the fans supporting me, even if the results are not there at the moment.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director

“We knew it would be a tough afternoon and that proved to be the case today. Credit must go to both Pierre and Franco for giving their all in a tough situation where the car was difficult to drive and with little to really fight for on track. In terms of strategy, we adapted mid-race and took a gamble with Pierre to switch to the Soft compound, a lot earlier than optimal, having seen other cars make the tyre work for a longer duration than anticipated.

"At that point, we knew Franco on the Hards would go longer and both cars would eventually converge towards the end of the race. With the front runners coming through with blue flags, we managed both cars equally and carefully to not interfere with those lapping us, while giving them both the chance to at least compete for position without taking any unnecessary risks. It has been a difficult weekend for the team. Well done to everyone trackside and at the factories for their continued efforts and we will regroup next week ahead of São Paulo.”