Pierre Gasly remains committed to Alpine following a challenging F1 Italian GP. The French driver recently signed a contract extension with the Enstone-based team until the end of 2028. Unfortunately, Alpine are struggling this season. They currently sit at the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, with Gasly having scored all their points.
Gasly discusses Alpine’s struggles for pace following F1 Italian GP
Gasly struggled during the F1 Italian GP. He qualified behind teammate Franco Colapinto in P19, but started from the pit lane after taking a new power unit. Alpine attempted a long run on the hard tyres, gambling for a late-stage Safety Car. No Safety Cars meant Gasly’s strategy failed to pay off, and he finished the race in P16 after swapping positions with his teammate.
Gasly discussed his difficulties with the car following the F1 Italian GP, expressing disappointment in Alpine’s lack of qualifying and race pace.
“I think if we do the optimum strategy like everybody does, we know that we’re going to finish in the same position as we started.
“I think at the moment it’s pretty clear. We don’t have the pace on Saturday, we don’t have the pace on Sunday. We’ve got to try something different. We tried to cover both possible strategies with Franco [Colapinto], tried to run long with me, hoping for a red flag or safety car that potentially could give us a shot at something at the end. But it didn’t happen. We ended up finishing where we would finish anyway in the first place.
“We’ve just got to keep trying. It’s not the most enjoyable type of racing, but I think of the bigger picture. I know I’ve just got to stick at it for the coming months, and the next is going to be very different.”
Alpine’s chassis and engine problems
Gasly claimed that Alpine has problems with the car’s chassis and engine following the F1 Italian GP. Alpine’s currently engine supplier is Renault, but they are switching to Mercedes engines for the 2026 season.
“At a track like Monza, where you have six corners, it’s not easy. We know where we’re lacking. And to be fair, it’s global — it’s chassis and engine.
“It’s not one to blame more than the other. I think we know the reasons why on both ends. And that’s the positive. On the flip side, we’ve just got to approach it in the same way as normal racing. Keep trying our best and keep giving our best chances, because the approach, regardless of the car performance, has got to be perfect every weekend.”
Alpine is falling behind in F1’s midfield battle
Gasly affirmed that the other midfield teams seem to be further ahead than Alpine following the F1 Italian GP. In Zandvoort, Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar scored the team’s first podium since Gasly in 2021. Nico Hulkenberg managed to score his maiden podium with Sauber in Silverstone. Unfortunately, Alpine continue to lag behind the other midfield teams.
“I just feel like the others have probably done a slightly bigger step or they’ve probably figured out how to get the best of their car consistently, weekend in and out. So yeah, I think it’s going to be tough. But I don’t discard it and that’s also my motivation until the end of the year.”
Gasly aims focus towards 2026 following F1 Italian GP
Despite a disappointing result at the F1 Italian GP, Gasly continues to maintain optimism in his team. He maintained confidence in his performance throughout the rest of the season regardless of potential finishing position.
“Whether you’re fighting for a race win or for P18, you’ve got to put the same dedication to it, the same commitment to it. I think we all agree that’s what we want to achieve as a team, because the car is not going to change.
“It’s most likely going to be the same speech and the same answers for the remaining part of the year. But yeah, at least we’ve got to focus on making what we have in our control as best as we can.”
Gasly continued to emphasize that his focus lies with the 2026 season. With new regulations being introduced in next season, any team could have a shot at scoring podiums and race wins.
“I’m very much focused on next year. And right now, even our best performance would be P16, P17. It’s not really what we’re looking for, but it’s more into preparing the entire team to be fighting for a much bigger result next year.
“The pressure is probably going to be different and it’s not the same in terms of state when you arrive onto a weekend and arrive onto a race day. So I think we’ve got to prepare ourselves for that.
“As I say, it doesn’t matter what position you fight for, you’ve still got to execute everything the best way.”
