Alpine stuck in a rut after third consecutive pointless race

Alpine suffered yet another disappointing race weekend in Singapore, with both of its drivers finishing outside the points for the third consecutive event.

For the Enstone squad, F1’s event at Marina Bay was just another chapter in a familiar story — another race, another weekend without points, and more of the same frustrations.

Stuck in a rut since the summer break, the team’s struggles have become routine, with its drivers once again voicing the all-too-familiar refrain: "We're not quick enough."

Despite trying alternative strategies, neither Pierre Gasly nor Esteban Ocon could find the pace necessary to challenge their rivals in F1’s tight midfield.

Gasly opted for a long 37-lap first stint on medium tyres, hoping to disrupt the cars behind him for the benefit of Ocon’s race as he played the sacrificial lamb, a role that frustrated the Frenchman.

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“A very difficult and frustrating race for us in the end,” Gasly explained. “We are just not quick or competitive enough at the moment.

“I got sacrificed, left out on track to block the others and try to help Esteban to catch up.

“Fundamentally, we are just too slow, and it forces us to try some interesting strategies.

“When you’re lapping five second off the pace the last 10 laps, not much point. But I understand we try to help one car in a way, because we are obviously not able to fight on pure pace for the top 10.

“There’s not much to do on afternoon like that, but I obviously, hoped that we will be able to do slightly more than just use me for blocking the others.”

At the end of the day, the tactic only allowed Ocon to gain two positions in the race, as he finished his day P15.

“The reality is three races ago [in Zandvoort] we were ninth place and at the last three races we have been far away from the top 10,” Gasly concluded.

“We have to find some performance and there is a lot of work ahead of us to improve our current level."

Alpine's struggles have seen the French outfit drop to ninth in the Constructors' championship, behind Williams. The team now faces a significant challenge to recover their form and compete for points in the remaining races of the season.

“We had a good start in today’s race, gaining a few positions off the line, but we did not have the pace to be a points contender, and we were unable to keep up with the train of cars ahead,” Ocon said as he described his evening.

“We maximised what we had, but without any big opportunities for us to capitalise on we weren’t able to move further ahead.”

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