As the Formula One season races to its ninth race, the Austrian Grand Prix, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly is preparing for a mid-grid showdown. With the likes of Aston Martin, Mclaren, and his own team Alpine capturing Q3 positions, and Ferrari securing a 2-3 grid starting position, the stage is set for an intense race at Spielberg. Despite currently just 10th in the driver standings, Gasly has shown consistent strength in qualifying rounds. In Austria, he secured a P9 starting position, marking his fifth Q3 appearance this season. But the struggles are far from over, he makes clear in his post-qualifying interview.

Alpine has been one of the volatile teams this year with insane peaks & lows. Amid all this, their CEO did a pretty public bashing of the team could have awakened the Boys in Blue. Regardless, coming into Austria, the Enstone outfit looked hopeful to replicate some of the good performances this year. Although, it could not happen as both Gasly & Ocon struggled to make it work at the Red Bull ring.

As per Autonews.fr, Gasly said in a post-qualifying interview: “I’m doing good laps in Q1, Q2 and even Q3. Unfortunately, we had a few laps taken out. It was complicated but today, that’s the performance we have. We’ll have to keep working to get closer to the cars in front of us. It’s extremely tight so we try to go to the limit at each corner and from time to time we exceed this limit. We would have preferred to start a little more in front but generally we manage a little more on Sundays.”

It would be interesting to see whether Gasly & Ocon can move up into the Top 5 on Sunday from 9th & 12th respectively. Even though it looks pretty tight as even Aston Martin seems to be struggling in Austrian conditions. Meanwhile, the updated McLaren of Lando Norris has emerged as a dark horse at one of his favorite tracks.

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However, individual brilliance often needs to dovetail with team strategy and performance. Alpine may hope to back on Pierre to produce something magical on Sunday besides nailing their strategy as well. Regardless in the long term, the French team look to find some answers for getting back to the top in F1 to retain talents like Gasly & Ocon.

Alpine’s Reality Check and Future Aspirations of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon

Alpine’s performance this season has been a sobering experience, even described as a “reality check” by its boss, Laurent Rossi. Last season, Alpine finished fourth, targeting the same position this year with a reduced gap to F1’s top three teams: Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari. But now, Alpine finds itself in fifth place, trailing behind Aston Martin, a team that has made remarkable strides this year.

Aston Martin’s success, he believes, is due to a change in mindset and willingness to take risks, something he feels Alpine should emulate. Acknowledging that Alpine cannot replicate the high-profile recruitments of Aston Martin, he maintains that Alpine’s strengths lie with its own in-house engine supply. Alpine recently accepted a substantial investment aimed at becoming a front-running team by 2026, indicating a clear focus on future growth and competitiveness.

For Gasly and Alpine, the journey ahead is laden with challenges. But with a focused driver and a team hungry to break the norms, they could blaze their own trail.

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