Alpine Uncovers Answers to Gasly's Miami Struggles Ahead of Canadian Grand Prix

Alpine's managing director Steve Nielsen has revealed the team has uncovered "some ideas and evidence" to explain why Pierre Gasly was outperformed by team-mate Franco Colapinto at the Miami Grand Prix — a stark reversal of form that left the Enstone squad conducting a thorough post-race investigation.

A Weekend to Forget for Gasly

The contrast only deepened in the races themselves. Colapinto delivered the highlight of Alpine's weekend by finishing seventh in the grand prix — his best-ever F1 result, promoted from eighth following a post-race penalty for Charles Leclerc. Gasly, meanwhile, had his race brought to a dramatic and premature end when a collision with Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls car flipped his A526 upside down.

Investigating the Root Cause

"We've done some digging on Pierre's side in the weeks since Miami to understand as to why, relative to the performances he has shown so far this season, he wasn't too happy in the car across the weekend," Nielsen said. "We have some ideas and evidence to suggest what occurred, and we hope both cars will be up there and scoring points again in Canada as we look to build some momentum during a very busy phase of the calendar."

Gasly himself was candid about his discomfort throughout the Miami weekend, but expressed cautious optimism that the team had identified potential remedies.

"I was not totally comfortable in the car in Miami, so we've put some time in to try and understand why," the 30-year-old said. "I think we have some answers, some directions to take in Canada, and the aim is to keep the momentum going as a team and deliver as many points as possible from the sprint and the grand prix."

The precise nature of Alpine's findings has not been publicly disclosed, though Gasly had flagged traction issues out of slow corners during the Miami weekend — particularly through the Turn 11 and Turn 17 sequences at the Miami International Autodrome. Despite telemetry indicating reduced wheelspin compared to Friday running, the Frenchman reported inconsistent acceleration phases that left him unable to match Colapinto's pace.

Colapinto's Star on the Rise

While Gasly's weekend unravelled, Colapinto's performance provided Alpine with a significant boost — and Nielsen was eager to underline just how important that contribution was. The Argentine's result helped lift Alpine to 23 points in the constructors' championship, already surpassing the team's entire 2025 tally of 22 points after just four rounds.

"It was great to see Franco so comfortable at the last round, and we want him to now show some consistency and repeat that level of performance every weekend," Nielsen said.

The numbers paint a compelling picture of Alpine's resurgence. The team that finished dead last in the 2025 constructors' standings now sits fifth in the championship table — a transformation that speaks to the scale of progress made at Enstone. That upward trajectory is being reinforced off the track too, with the team recently confirming the appointment of Jason Somerville as Deputy Technical Director, signalling serious intent to build on its strong start to the season.

With Canada offering a sprint weekend format and both drivers eager to continue Alpine's momentum, the pressure will be on Gasly in particular to demonstrate that the Miami anomaly has been understood — and corrected.