The French driver acknowledged that Alpine is going through a critical moment, expressed frustration over the A525's poor performance, and called for a focus on short-term solutions
The Frenchman acknowledged that the last five races have been especially tough, although he asked to keep working with the team: "I know it's going to be difficult, which is why I think it's important for me to turn the page and try to work with the team on what we can do to improve in the short term. But we're not going to go from 19th to suddenly finding half a second per lap."
After a complicated stint in Monza, Alpine was expecting another difficult weekend in Baku, and that was the case. The street circuit in Azerbaijan once again exposed the limitations of the A525, leaving Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly with no chance to compete in the midfield.
From the incidents in qualifying, the problems became apparent when both were eliminated in Q1. In the main race, Colapinto managed to move up to 13th place in the opening laps, but soon lost pace and finished further back after contact with Alex Albon. Meanwhile, Gasly never found the necessary competitiveness. The final result: 18th for the Frenchman and 19th for the Argentine, the only ones who lost a lap to the winner, Max Verstappen.
"We're so far behind, honestly... we need time to analyze everything and try to solve it. Clearly, it didn't work next weekend," Gasly admitted. Regarding the difficulties in Baku, he explained: "Bumps, a long straight, and yes, the truth is we've never been strong here, so I think obviously there are some things we're not doing quite right."
"I think we know what works and what doesn't, but I'm sure there are still things we can do better and, also, on my side there are things to improve: yesterday I made a mistake I shouldn't have made. So I'll keep working, but yes, honestly, it's quite tough when you see the gap with the other cars at this moment," he concluded.
With this outlook, Alpine's present remains an uphill battle and the gap with the midfield teams seems increasingly difficult to close. Currently, the French team sits last with just 20 points and is 24 points behind its closest rival, Haas, so it still has a long way to go if it wants to finish the season with any dignity.
