Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly are expressing optimism for Alpine’s prospects at the Miami Grand Prix, after both drivers advanced to SQ3 and secured top-10 grid spots for Saturday’s Sprint race. Colapinto will start P8—matching his best-ever qualifying performance—while Gasly takes P10, marking the first time both Alpine cars have reached the top 10 ahead of a Grand Prix or Sprint this season.
Alpine introduced new upgrades in Miami, and Colapinto was especially pleased to bounce back after resolving issues with his A526 during Friday’s practice. “I’m happy because we turned around something that was quite tough and it took us a while to understand. I think we are finally getting in the rhythm and understanding some of the pace we lacked,” he reflected. “Doing good laps all day on a track that I know, on a Sprint weekend which is more difficult. Just all very positive today.”
Colapinto, who believes Alpine is “looking strong compared to the midfield cars,” credited the recent break for helping the squad reset and regroup. “We worked really well in the right direction. I’m pleased with the performance today but of course, it’s just the start of the weekend.”
Alpine currently sits joint fifth in the Constructors’ standings, having only achieved one double-points finish so far this season in China. Gasly, who has scored in all three Grands Prix, was less satisfied with his Sprint Qualifying, citing persistent wheelspin that hampered his performance. “Not really good because it has been very difficult since this morning. We’ve seen something is not quite working on my side and I’m having a lot of wheelspin. Unfortunately, we didn’t really have enough time to get to the bottom of it but it hasn’t felt good,” Gasly admitted.
He added, “Still, [we] managed to get the two cars in the top 10 which is good, but we just have a lot more potential to unlock.”
With both cars starting from strong positions, Alpine will be aiming to convert their promising pace into a valuable double-points haul in the Miami Sprint and Grand Prix.
