Both Alpine drivers scored this morning in Shanghai: Pierre Gasly secured a meritorious sixth place while Franco Colapinto returned to the top 10 for the first time since racing in blue.
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Gasly finished sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix, allowing him to move up to seventh position in the drivers’ championship.
The Alpine F1 driver is satisfied with having achieved such a good result and having fought in the race, but he remains frustrated.
Safety Car at the wrong time
Indeed, he explains that he struggled in the middle of the race and missed his Safety Car restart, which itself came at a bad time. He believes that fifth place was achievable against Oliver Bearman and Max Verstappen.
“Part of me is very happy for all these points, we’ve had a very solid weekend since the Sprint Qualifying. I got a very good start, I was able to get into fifth, then the Safety Car put us in difficulty,said Gasly. In race pace we were really good, but it was complicated in the middle of the Grand Prix with the cars around us, I lost time, Max and Bearman pulled away, and I managed to come back at the end of the race, not much was missing to go after Bearman.”
“I would have preferred to have that fifth place, I think we had it, there are a few small things to fix. After the Safety Car I had no energy, Bearman overtook me right at the restart like he was using his indicator, but this fifth place is a good start.”
Hard-fought duel with Verstappen
After the battle with Verstappen, and before the latter retired, Gasly was annoyed on the radio about being slightly pushed wide by his rival. He admits he was a bit carried away by the adrenaline.
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“I’m always on edge in the car, it was tough, which is what I expected with Max, but I’ll review the footage, I was a bit heated, but I had him in my sights and it’s pleasant to have Max in your sights, it could have been a great fight.”
Colapinto’s Top 10
Franco Colapinto was much more measured in his remarks despite the fact that he scored his first point in Alpine colors. The Argentine collided with Esteban Ocon, who apologized after the finish, and he lost the possibility of a better result.
“It was a fun race with him, it’s a shame it ended like that, I lost two points in that contact. It’s not what I wanted, it could have been better and I think I was unlucky all day”said Colapinto.
The raw result is positive, but the Alpine driver can’t help but be frustrated by the circumstances in which he scored these points:“It was positive, we were fast, but I still need to find performance.”
For the Enstone team, it’s the first double points finish since the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, during which Gasly and Esteban Ocon finished on the podium.
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