Gasly: Alpine in 'better shape' but Asian rounds won't be easy

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine is set to tackle F1's Singapore-Japan double-header "in better shape" than it was at Monza last time out.

After the joy of claiming his fourth career podium in F1 at Zandvoort a week before, Gasly endured a difficult Sunday at Monza where the Frenchman concluded his day a lowly P15, while teammate Esteban Ocon suffered a DNF.

Since, the Enstone squad and its drivers have worked hard back at the team's base where Gasly and Ocon attended technical meetings while preparing for the outfit's upcoming Asian rounds with long hours in the simulator.

"As a team we really experienced the highs and lows of racing across the last two events," Gasly explained in Alpine's Singapore Grand Prix preview.

"The podium in Zandvoort was fully deserved and we had a reasonable package there to compete for solid points.

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"In Monza, we expected it to be a challenge and, unfortunately, we lacked performance and could not put ourselves in contention.

"We had a very productive day on the simulator last week and I think we are in better shape for the next two races where we aim to return to the points.

"It won’t be an easy two weeks across two very different tracks with very different demands and conditions, but I’m ready for it and certainly looking forward to getting out there and racing."

Ocon, whose race in Italy ended on lap 35 of 51 due to a steering issue, is also hopeful of Alpine enjoying a "strong comeback" in Singapore next weekend.

"Monza was a weekend of learning for us," Ocon said. Since then, we have sat down, kept our heads down and analysed the reasons why we lacked performance and how we can learn from that for future events.

"We remain positive and we are confident we can make a strong comeback in Singapore, a track that should better suit our car.

"We’ll keep our heads down and work hard to have a more competitive weekend."

As usual, Singapore's hot and humid environment will be an ordeal for drivers, which compelled Ocon to tweak his physical preparation for the race accordingly.

"Physically, I focused on specific training for Singapore, which consists of acclimatising my body to the hot and humid conditions of the race," he explained.

"I feel ready to start the upcoming Asian double-header and work alongside the team to achieve strong results."

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