Gasly oozed class in Brazil to end Alpine's "long walk in the middle of nowhere"

For the seemingly inescapable state of flux that Alpine appears to thrive in, the team now appears to be settling down after years of self-inflicted turbulence. A few rounds of changes in management, philosophy, and occupants of the second seat painted the Renault-owned outfit as one destined to chase its tail forever; it could still remain as such - as last week's column on Gabriel Bortoleto has proven, this writer is no clairvoyant.

The team's extension of Franco Colapinto's deal to 2026 suggests that it does indeed value continuity. Sure, there's plenty of other reasons to retain the Argentine's services - a few million of them, in fact - but the bottom line is that his rate of progress this year has been solid after being hurled into the car mid-season with little opportunity to test. While further change is afoot for next year, as the team takes delivery of Mercedes powertrains to voluntarily give up works status, it ensures that the team is no longer alone on being 30-odd horsepower down on its rival teams, as has been the case over the past few years.

If there was ever a paragon of the benefits of continuity at the team, it would be Pierre Gasly. In his third year at Alpine, Gasly has endured a wide range of fortunes across his tenure: a solid opening year that bequeathed unto him a podium, then the disappointment of 2024's car, before its subsequent late-season surge in performance and the Brazil double-podium. This year has been akin to the start of last season, but without the upward mobility - Alpine has fallen to the bottom of the order, with few opportunities to extricate itself from lashings with the wooden spoon.

Yet, Gasly has remained resolute. Despite the failing performance and the cycles of upheaval on a seemingly annual basis, the Norman tied himself to Alpine for the next few years, keen to be a part of a revival in fortunes. A more cynical view might be that Gasly had few other options, and that may be true - but the two points of view are not mutually exclusive.

But it must be overwhelmingly difficult to remain motivated when resigned to little more than Q1 exits, as Gasly has been of late. Yet, at least publically, Gasly has been the face of optimism. He accepted many races ago that Alpine would be subject to toils at the back-of-the-grid, and simply called upon his team to make the absolute best of what it had. The results didn't matter; perfection did. Frustration has not emerged from finishing a lap or two down, or from missing the mark by a fraction to break into Q2, but from what he considered as incorrect strategy calls and unoptimised set-ups. Gasly is right to take that view; in the event Alpine should develop a car worthy of more, it cannot let its standards slip and leave results strewn ephemerally upon the table.

And when the broken clock displays the right time, as it did in Brazil, it had to be in position to take advantage. Gasly has a pretty good record at Interlagos, spearheaded by his podiums in 2019 and 2024, but even he was at a loss to explain why the Alpine A525 was suddenly so good at this year's Brazil Grand Prix. It did what he wanted it to do - but the team needed to work out how.

Gasly held his own in a congested battle for the minor points placings

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

"I was able to drive in a way that I want," Gasly contended. "The car was responding to what I expect the car to do and we had a lot more potential. In quali yesterday, to be less than five tenths from the McLaren, knowing the package we have, it just showed there was something. We were actually very competitive in the corners and I was pleased the car was responding to my input and there was nothing really very strange. It's what I expect from a race car."

Gasly was perhaps unlucky not to make the SQ3 cut on Friday afternoon, having demonstrated strong out-of-the-box pace in practice. Nonetheless, he moved up two places at the start, subsequently benefitted from Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg's Turn 3 offs to sit on the cusp of a top-eight finish, and sealed a first point since July's Belgian Grand Prix.

Given that Alpine sits 40 points adrift of ninth place in the constructors' championship, a point was little more than a keepsake - but it was also a small reward for the slog that the team's workforce had endured over the past nine months.

It's one point and I'm definitely not going to complain about it - I would have taken it every single day [for the last] three months! Pierre Gasly

Then, Gasly earned another in the grand prix, this time having broken into the final stage of qualifying to start ninth. This was no cling-onto-a-top-10 drive, as Gasly demonstrated the appetite and the pace to be on the front foot in a well-populated midfield scrap. That he lost a position from his grid slot was only down to Max Verstappen's rise through the order; Gasly battled with Isack Hadjar and Nico Hulkenberg ahead, while keeping Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon from mounting a late swoop for 10th. Alpine had chanced upon a good set-up, and Gasly milked it for all that it was worth. He was ready to capitalise, although suggested he might have even managed a little bit more.

"Big picture, I'm very happy because last time we scored points on a Sunday was in Spa before the summer break - and it's been a very long walk in the middle of nowhere for three months," Gasly explained post-Brazil.

"I must say I was a lot more excited this morning coming into the race knowing that I had a car to race. Strong weekend, Q3, one point in the sprint, one point today. If I've got to be honest, I'm a little disappointed with today because we took a great start, managed to pass Bearman and managed to pass Russell.

Before Sao Paulo, Gasly hadn't scored since the Belgian Grand Prix

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

"Both occasions I'm losing the position in the straights, which would have put us in a much better track position for the rest of the race. I managed to dive twice in the inside of Hadjar, but every time in the straight to Turn 4 he got past me very easily, so I feel like I had quite a lot more pace, just not really able to fully show it.

"At the end it's one point and I'm definitely not going to complain about it because I would have taken it every single day since three months. I'm sure we'll have a look if we could have done anything different, but I do feel we had more pace than we were able to show."

Last year, Brazil was the catalyst for Alpine's sudden upturn in form; updates for the final rounds ensured that Gasly was a consistent threat among the top 10, although an engine failure meant that he was denied a chance to capitalise on a third-place start. While those updates felt like a tangible reason for Alpine's lurch forward last season, Gasly's emergence in the top 10 in Brazil felt a little more circumstantial. It's speculated that the bumpiness and low grip levels upset those who struggle to run at higher ride-heights, while Alpine starts to lose more relative performance when the ride heights get lower.

"We have no idea why we're fast here and we have no idea why we're so slow in Mexico," Gasly concluded. "We do have small ideas but not enough to say that's going to be fine. Last year I qualified third in Vegas; we'll see - I will not put money on third for me in Vegas this year!"

This time, the two points accrued in Brazil might just be that, rather than the start of a late-season recovery. But, it's a small reward for Gasly, whose patience has been tested extensively throughout 2025 - and yet, he has never been seen to waver.