Pierre Gasly has been calling for Alpine to fix its mistakes after facing a string of issues leading up to Formula 1’s summer break.
Gasly’s final three races before the summer break were plagued by a series of problems. Despite improvements allowing him to finally score points in Monaco, his struggles continued, placing Alpine eighth in the constructors’ standings.
He managed to secure three more top 10 finishes but faced a did-not-start at Silverstone due to a gearbox malfunction during the formation lap. In Hungary, a hydraulics problem forced him to retire from the race.
The final race before the break, in Belgium, saw Gasly struggling due to a lack of straight-line speed and engine temperature issues. ‘It was absolutely terrible down the straights,’ Gasly lamented, adding that he lost seven-tenths of a second every lap.
Gasly expressed immense frustration, noting that the last three weekends were filled with ‘problems on top of problems.’ He mentioned issues such as a bent steering mechanism and poor strategy choices, emphasizing that the team made too many mistakes.
The team has also been impacted by instability in its management and technical teams. Over the Belgian GP weekend, team principal Bruno Famin announced he would step down, just a year after taking over Otmar Szafnauer’s position. This marks the fifth leadership change since the team returned to the grid as Renault in 2016.
Despite these challenges, Gasly praised Bruno Famin for his transparency and honesty. He also mentioned that the entire team remains focused on its goals despite the management shake-up. ‘It doesn’t change the entire team,’ he remarked.
With the summer break offering a moment to regroup, Gasly and Alpine will be looking to put these problems behind them and aim for a stronger second half of the season.
