Pierre Gasly has revealed his confusion over Alpine’s strong performance at the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, admitting that it raises more questions than answers.
Alpine has endured a miserable second half of 2025, the team stopping all development of the A525 and opting to switch focus to its 2026 car.
This decision has ultimately led to the Enstone team losing all competitiveness and likely to finish at the bottom of the standings for the first time in its 44-year history.
Yet, in the hands of Gasly, Alpine and the Frenchman have enjoyed a renaissance at Interlagos, securing a point for the first time in eight rounds in Saturday’s Sprint Race.
But despite the welcome rest-bite from its woes, Gasly remains perplexed about the sudden surge, admitting the team needs answers before it can fully digest the weekend.
“There are a few ideas, but the reality is we don’t fully know,” Gasly conceded to media including Motorsport Week.
“I don’t want to say anything which might not be true.
“I know the guys are looking very deeply into it and it’s quite complicated, but we need some answers.
“At the moment we have a lot of questions, not many answers. Hopefully we’ll have some more in the coming weeks.”
A weekend in stark contrast to Mexico
Alpine’s fortunes starkly contrast with Mexico, where both drivers were eliminated in Q1 and finished at the back, suffering the added indignity of being lapped.
Gasly highlighted the difference in performance, recalling his battle with the Ferraris in the Sprint Race compared to their flyby interaction at the previous race.
“After Mexico, the only time I saw Ferrari was when he blue flagged us,” the Frenchman recalled.
“I didn’t expect to see that on a sprint race two weeks later. It just shows how much better we are here.”
“I think track characteristics play quite a big factor, but I cannot believe it’s only down to that, so we’ve got to understand more.”
Alpine’s good fortune did not extend to team-mate Franco Colapinto, who qualified a disappointing 18th after his crash in the Sprint Race.
“Generally, it just didn’t feel very comfortable to drive,” the Argentine, who will remain alongside Gasly in 2026, reviewed.
“The team did a great job putting the car back together, it was very impressive. I was in qualifying, so I’m very grateful for it, but it just didn’t feel very good.
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