Team Talk – Saturday night in Las Vegas

Alpine

Pierre Gasly

“Our race was over after a few hundred metres today and it is a pity we could not show our potential today. Gabriel [Bortoleto] was overly optimistic going into Turn 1. He crashed into Lance [Stroll] who then made contact with me and spun me around, breaking the back of my car and we had a lot of damage there.

"Not a good evening for us and I am sad for all the team as I have been feeling good in the car all weekend and it would have been interesting to see what we could have achieved. We have been fast in both the wet and the dry and I was excited to be in the mix where I am confident we could have challenged for the points today. Now our focus switches to Qatar where the conditions will be completely different to here. Two more races to go and we'll keep giving it our best to the very end.”

Franco Colapinto

“It wasn't the best outcome in today's race after contact from behind at the start meant we carried damage and lost downforce for the duration of the race. I had a relatively clean getaway and tried to avoid the chaos that happened in Turn 1 but I was hit from behind by Alex [Albon]. I felt small contact, but the floor and diffuser took a big hit. It's hard to say whether it was down to the damage we picked up, but the car felt much worse than in previous sessions.

"The balance was poor today and we lacked rear grip with the rear sliding a lot. It's a pity as you always want to give it your best shot but sometimes these things happen in racing that is out of your control. We need to quickly move on and look forward to finishing the season on a positive note at the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”

Flavio Briatore

“Today both our drivers, through no fault of their own, were caught up in a chaotic start to the race which resulted in significant damage to the rear of both cars. Pierre's race was completely ruined by an overambitious move by another driver in Turn 1 and he had a big loss of downforce as a result of the damage.

"Franco too suffered contact and damage which meant it was an uphill battle for the team for the whole race where we ended far from the points. While this circuit is a unique challenge with the conditions, we now head to Qatar, a track with many high-speed corners, which could suit our package better than recent events."