Alpine left the Formula 1 Australian GP with a sweet taste. On Sunday (8), Pierre Gasly managed to finish in the points zone, while Franco Colapinto, despite not scoring, highlighted the positive points of the race.
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In Melbourne, the French competitor crossed the finish line in tenth place and, regarding the result, celebrated the point in the standings and commented on how a contact made it impossible to fight for more positions.
“This point was earned with a lot of fighting today, and we can be satisfied with the result. It was a long afternoon behind the wheel, no doubt! I had a good start, gained a few positions and then took part in some interesting battles on track. We had some damage due to contact, so we probably couldn’t show our full potential because of that. I think if circumstances had been more favorable, we could have fought for an even better position. There are many positives to consider and I’m sure we’ll work hard this week as there’s a lot to learn before the next one. The races are certainly different,” he said.
“They brought many new challenges today and there are many tactics and factors that come into play now. Now that we’ve seen a race unfold, there are many new tricks for us to understand and implement next time. I enjoyed it, it was an eventful race from start to finish, and we have a lot to learn now. Next week, we have the sprint weekend in China, where we need to be ready from the start and hit the ideal pace quickly. I leave here happy, so congratulations to the whole team,” he added.
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Meanwhile, his Argentine teammate said that “based purely on the result, it’s not where we wanted to be, however, there are definitely some positives to consider, such as the race pace and the data we collected, from which we can learn for the next races. Given our position on the grid, it was always going to be difficult and, ultimately, the penalty for a start infringement prevented us from fighting for higher positions. We win and lose as a team and we are in this together.”
“Actually, I was lucky to finish the race, as it almost ended at the start with a scary moment trying to avoid [Liam] Lawson, who started very slowly. I almost hit the back of him and managed to see him at the last minute. I swerved to the right and passed between him and the pit wall. I think I touched the wall, but fortunately we didn’t suffer any serious damage and completed the first lap unscathed. Despite the result, I think considering where we started the weekend, we can be satisfied with the car’s behavior and performance, especially in race pace, which is comparable to some of our midfield rivals. Congratulations to Pierre as well for scoring a point to start the season,” he concluded.
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