Pierre Gasly has conceded that Alpine “definitely need some answers” prior to the next race on the calendar at Imola after a tough weekend for the squad in Miami that saw the Frenchman cross the line in 13th, while team mate Jack Doohan suffered a race-ending collision on Lap 1.
After ending a tricky Qualifying in P18, Gasly started Sunday’s race from the pit lane due to set-up changes being made to his A525 under parc ferme conditions. And while he was able to gain some positions, his charge could reach no higher than P13.
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“I think it’s just been a difficult weekend all in all,” Gasly explained after the race. “We haven’t really showed any speed at any point. We’ve seen a couple of things which [weren’t] working properly on the car after Quali, made a couple of changes for today.
“It was a little bit better but generally speaking we’re just lacking quite a lot of pace compared to the last few races, so quite a lot to analyse after this weekend.
‘We haven’t really shown any speed at any point’ – Gasly on tough weekend for Alpine
“I’m still pleased we’re getting away with one point from the Sprint yesterday, because it didn’t look like we would be able to fight there so we’ve got to take what we can, but I think we definitely need some answers ahead of Imola.”
Pushed on how much of the situation was down to Alpine not delivering – or if it was more that other teams, such as Williams, had made more progress – Gasly responded: “Yeah, Williams made a huge step, but I think not really regarding only compared to them, compared to all the other cars.
“We were on the back foot throughout the whole weekend, so I want to believe and probably hope that it’s more related to this track and the tarmac and the conditions we faced, but honestly at the minute we just need more time to get some answers.”
On the other side of the garage, the weekend ended in disappointing fashion for Doohan, who picked up a puncture following contact with Lawson during the first lap. While he tried to return to the pits, the Australian was unable to make it and was forced to pull off the track.
‘Nothing would be intentional’ – Doohan diplomatic after Lap 1 clash with Lawson
When asked about the incident shortly after returning to the paddock, Doohan answered: “I don’t want to comment, I haven’t seen the replay yet. As we all know, nothing would be intentional, so unfortunately got squeezed there.
“I don’t know, maybe he had a car on his outside. We just have to look into it because it didn’t end well for me and I don’t think it helped him out as well. Just got to keep our heads up, look forward to Imola now.”
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Given that the weekend had been another tough one in what has been a challenging start to his campaign, Doohan was also quizzed on how he is coping with the fact that things have not been going his way.
“Unfortunately the things that have gone wrong this weekend have been outside of my control, but you always have to reflect as well and see in those situations if there was anything that I could have done better,” the 22-year-old said.
“So I will be reflecting on that for a brief period of time before switching my focus to the upcoming race in Imola.”
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