F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Gasly sees clear progress for Alpine after Mexico City GP point

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine has made significant strides with its A524 car, as demonstrated by the Frenchman’s strong qualifying performance and a P10 finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Gasly and Alpine’s return to the points marked an important moment for Alpine, as they aim to build on recent upgrades introduced in Austin.

After qualifying in eighth, Gasly enjoyed a rocky start to his race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with an inadvertent contact with Alex Albon on the run down to Turn 1 set off a chain reaction that ultimately ended in a collision between the Williams driver and Yuki Tsunoda that eliminated both drivers.

Fortunately for Gasly, his car escaped unscathed, allowing him to put in a consistent drive that handed him the final points-paying position.

Despite his best efforts, Gasly couldn’t match the pace of the Haas cars ahead, but he expressed satisfaction with scoring his first top ten finish since last summer’s Dutch Grand Prix.

“Yeah, I’m very happy. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that top 10 on Sunday, so very pleased for the team”, Gasly said.

“We managed to come from a strong qualifying from yesterday, and Haas today were just too fast and I tried to hang on as much as I could at the start. On the first stint I wasn’t too far but I could see them pulling away, and then on the second stint they were just too competitive.

“I tried to keep that P10 until the end, but we haven’t scored points for a while so it definitely shows some progress from the whole team.”

©Alpine

Gasly pointed to Alpine’s recent upgrade at the US Grand Prix as the source of its car’s improved pace.

“We clearly seem to have made a step with the car since we brought the upgrades in Austin,” he explained.

“We’ve managed to do two Q3s in a row now in the last two weekends. The race in Austin was difficult, today was also quite tricky but at least we managed to finish in the top 10.

“There is still some work for us, but at least we’re definitely making progress.”

While Gasly was able to capitalize on the car’s improvements, his teammate Esteban Ocon faced a more challenging weekend.

A decision to change power unit components saw him start from the pit lane, limiting his chances of breaking into the top 10. Despite gaining a few positions, Ocon ultimately finished in 13th and expressed disappointment with the result.

“A long race this afternoon, I would say,” he said. “A couple of fights, but we are not quick enough to be able to come back from starting last, so we ended up 13th – that’s all there was today.”

Ocon’s frustrations extended beyond just the Mexico City weekend, as he acknowledged a broader trend of missed opportunities in recent races.

“[I’m] disappointed from this weekend, from quite a few weekends to be fair,” Ocon said. “Hopefully we can turn things around.”

Despite the mixed results between its drivers, Alpine’s recent upgrades have shown promise. Gasly’s return to the points and his optimism about the car’s progress signal a potential much-needed turnaround for the team they continues to battle Williams for seventh in F1’s Constructors’ standings.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Leclerc fined for swearing during Mexico City GP press conference

Charles Leclerc has been fined €10,000, half of which is suspended, for cursing during the…

1 hour ago

Bearman to race for Haas in Sao Paulo GP as Magnussen pulls out

Kevin Magnussen will miss the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after falling ill, leaving Haas reserve…

11 hours ago

Piastri targeting Sprint victory but ready to hand win to Norris

Oscar Piastri will be targeting his second sprint victory in F1 on Saturday morning at…

12 hours ago

Norris made ‘too many mistakes’ on final sprint qualifying flyer

Lando Norris was “pleasantly surprised” by McLaren’s pace in sprint qualifying on Friday at Interlagos…

13 hours ago

Sao Paulo GP: Friday's action in pictures

McLaren looks like it has already stolen a march on its rivals at Interlagos, based…

13 hours ago

São Paulo GP: Piastri and Norris take control of sprint qualifying

There was no doubting which team had a firm grip on proceedings in qualifying for…

14 hours ago