Formula 1 | Alpine, Gasly confirms: “It will take some time before we are competitive”

As well as his teammate, also Pierre Gasly he doesn't have much confidence in the performance of theAlpine. After last week's tests, the Bahrain paddock rejected the new one A524, considered slow, heavy and aerodynamically under performing compared to the competition. In fact, the drivers themselves have confirmed these impressions, and this means that there will be a lot to work on in view of the next races, and a difficulty for the French team in even making the Q1 cut in the first outings of the season cannot be ruled out.

“I'm always happy at the dawn of a new season – Gasly said. I feel in great shape both physically and mentally: I had an excellent winter, I feel ready for the challenge of this, my second championship with Alpine and with 24 races. The tests were very demanding: we focused only on ourselves, running the program without too much stress, learning more and more about the new machine and the overall package available. I imagine it will take some time for us to unlock the performance we want, but that's not a surprise as it's a new concept. I remain realistic, I know it will be a difficult start for us but it is important to identify the areas on which to work and improve."

Alpine, Gasly's statistics in Bahrain

Departures: 6
Points scored in Bahrain: 26
Average points: 4,3
Best grid position: 5° (2018 with Toro Rosso and 2021 with AlphaTauri)
Best race result: 4° (2018 with Toro Rosso)
Best qualifying lap time: 1:28.448 (2020 with AlphaTauri)
Fastest lap: 1:34.090 (2021 with AlphaTauri)

Curiosity: in 2023 Gasly recovered from last to ninth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, and in this race he had a ten-lap stint in which he was the fastest of all, on average he was four tenths a lap faster than winner of the race, Max Verstappen.