Singapore exposes Alpine’s pace problem – again

Last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix offered no salvation for Alpine, with the French outfit adding yet another grim chapter in their dismal 2025 campaign.

For the fifth consecutive race, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto crossed the finish line without a single point, despite their hopes that the tight and twisty Marina Bay venue might provide a chance to claw back competitiveness.

The bleak result was a stark reminder of just how far Alpine remains from F1’s mid-field pace-setters.

Pit Lane Purgatory

Gasly’s race was doomed before it even began. A pit lane start, triggered by reliability issues that forced him to abandon his car in a runoff area during qualifying, set the tone for a punishing evening.

The Frenchman, languishing in 19th place by the chequered flag, could only reflect on a car that felt alien beneath him.

“Today was always going to be difficult especially with the pit lane start,” he conceded.

“I have not been feeling too comfortable in the car recently so we changed set-up and changed floor to try and understand some things further, which should benefit us for the future.”

“We knew the race would be complicated and it was nice to have a few battles out there even if it was not for the points paying positions.

“I know the team is working exceptionally hard at the moment and we all know we are nowhere near where we should be right now.”

Despite Alpine’s tireless work behind the scenes, the team’s results – or lack of – have left them rooted at the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship. Yet Gasly remains cautiously optimistic, pointing to future circuits as opportunities to improve.

“I am confident we can do better in Austin next time out compared to the last few races where the circuit characteristics have not suited our package – especially with the lack of grip and bumps that are common on street circuits,” he added.

Colapinto’s Midfield Struggles

For Franco Colapinto, who remains the only driver on the current grid who has yet to score this season, Singapore offered little relief, though the Argentine showed glimpses of competitiveness early on.

A soft-tyre starting strategy allowed him to gain positions off the line, but his A525’s underlying pace deficit quickly reasserted itself.

“It was a long race with lots of close battles out there, which was fun but, ultimately, we didn't have the pace and lost some places towards the end on older tyres,” Colapinto said.

“I managed to get a good launch off the line and made up places through the opening sequence of corners.

“We were running quite well in the midfield pack on the softs at the time and knowing how difficult it is to overtake at this track, we pitted early trying to undercut and use track position to make up places.

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“We tried our best to manage the tyres but with a lot of degradation and having to also move offline for blue flags, it made it difficult to hold off the cars on fresher tyres in the closing laps. It was not what we wanted but we just have to keep pushing and better results will come.”

As the circus moves to Austin, Gasly’s faint optimism will be put to the test. But for now, Alpine’s Singapore story is one of unrelenting struggle, a team trapped in a cycle of disappointment with no immediate escape in sight.

The Marina Bay lights may have dimmed, but for Alpine, the darkness lingers.

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