Alpine’s Italian Grand Prix weekend proved yet another stark reminder of the French outfit’s ongoing struggles, with both Pierre Gasly and rookie Franco Colapinto failing to score points.
The Enstone-based squad remains anchored to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, their tally of 20 points lagging far behind ninth-placed Haas on 44.
Gasly, starting from the pit lane due to pre-race power unit changes, finished 16th, while Colapinto ended 17th, unchanged from his starting position. Only Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who dropped down the order following a late pit stop, came behind the Alpine duo.
Struggling Across the Board
Reflecting on Alpine’s performance at Monza, Gasly was candid about where the team fell short.
“Everywhere. We’re just struggling for pace on Saturday and Sunday, and we knew coming here to Monza it was always going to be difficult,” he said.
“Starting from the pit lane we just tried different stuff, Franco starting on medium [tyres], me on hard. I tried to go as long as possible; I think we did 50 odd laps on this hard hoping for a red flag or Safety Car to benefit from, but it didn’t happen.
“We’re just trying. We’ve just got to keep trying every weekend.”
Colapinto echoed the sentiment, highlighting the isolation and difficulty of the weekend:
“It was just tough, not so nice out there. A very long race, very lonely. We tried our best I think as a team with different strategies, but it just didn’t really work out.
“We’ll keep pushing together. The next one is Baku, so we’ll try to make up for this race.”
Looking Ahead to 2026
Despite the dismal results, Gasly remains cautiously optimistic about Alpine’s future under the all-new 2026 regulations.
“There’s no frustration to have at the minute” he said, noting the team’s current limitations.
“We know the situation we are in, we know we have no upgrades coming, we know that it’s going to be the same speech and the same talk every weekend – we’ve just got to stick at it.
“We know next year is a completely new car, it’s a fresh start for all of us. I’m very positive and very optimistic for it, so I’ve just got to keep trying my best and try to take every lesson possible for us as a team. We’ll try again in Baku.”
Alpine’s weekend at Monza reinforced a troubling reality for the Enstone outfit: with the midfield race intensifying and rivals consistently improving, their path out of the tail of the field remains steep.
For Gasly and Colapinto, the challenge is clear – endure the struggle, extract lessons, and hope the 2026 regulations provide a long-awaited reset.
Read also: Renault CEO Provost pledges Alpine’s long-term commitment to F1
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