Alpine’s Pierre Gasly has admitted that remaining with a manufacturer heading into Formula 1’s next rules overhaul will be an “important” consideration for his future.
The Frenchman elected to depart the Red Bull stable at the end of 2022 to pursue a move to the Renault-owned Alpine side to replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso.
Alpine had sustained an encouraging start to the latest ground effect regulations with a fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ standings but slipped to sixth last term.
Despite anticipating a sluggish start to 2024 with a revamped car concept, Alpine has failed to log a point in three rounds with its uncompetitive and overweight A524.
However, Gasly has remained upbeat about Alpine’s chances of reversing its bleak fortunes, citing how there’s more low-hanging fruit to unlock as a works arrangement.
Asked whether representing an engine manufacturer ahead of the impending regulation change was vital to his next deal, he replied: “I think that’s important.
“I’ve been on both sides of being with AlphaTauri and Honda and Renault when I started in 2017, and obviously the ceiling is higher.
“There’s no limit when you’re a manufacturer. You can just set your own limits and develop and invest as much as you want.
“So I do see that benefit from being a manufacturer in Alpine, and obviously funding is not the issue, it’s not the main talk, so this is not an issue at all.
“That’s why I do believe there is no reason and there is no limit to ourselves and the way we’re going to approach the future.”
Alpine has promised that upgrades will begin to arrive in the coming months to address its torrid beginning to the season, starting with some minor ones this weekend.
The ex-Red Bull racer has reiterated that Alpine’s competitiveness across the rest of the campaign will “for sure” determine his desire to extend his stint with the team.
“The understanding of what we have and the concept we have, the car we have, the potential… I think more important is the understanding of what we are doing,” he added.
“There’s a big regulation change in 2026 which will be a challenge for every team, whether it’s on the engine side or the car side, and it’s important to understand what we’re doing.
“It’s not that because that car concept isn’t working that we don’t know what we’re doing, but I think it is very important that we’re able to identify and come up with solutions.”
Having signed for Alpine with the ambition of progressing towards race wins, Gasly has admitted that the Enstone-based squad’s regression has been tough to digest.
But the one-time F1 race winner is adamant he has seen changes behind the scenes that will prove beneficial to Alpine in improving its long-term on-track performance.
When it was put to him that it was damaging to his career to be languishing at the back, he said: “That’s a fair point! Not to answer that is not easy.
“You said it yourself, I signed with Alpine after a season where they finished fourth, last year was a bit disappointing overall in terms of performance, we didn’t manage to close the gap to the top three and dropped back in the order.
“This year it kind of stands out, it’s not really the continuity of the work we’ve done last year, it’s just unfortunately the car isn’t well-born and it’s just what it is.
“In the background as I’ve said there’s been a lot of positive change, in the way that we’ve been approaching the work and the focus on details and the mentality inside the team, I see a lot of positives, but then it doesn’t translate straight away into performance. No-one wants to be in a position of driving a car that is not competitive, and ultimately that’s what I want.
“But ultimately I also believe that’s possible with the current team that we have and that’s why we need to find the solutions and the way to make it happen.”
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