Pierre Gasly will start the Mexico City Grand Prix from 10th place after getting the BWT Alpine Formula One Team into the final part of qualifying. Team-mate Franco Colapinto qualified 12th after struggling in the final sector. Both drivers recovered from a difficult final practice session, and the team says scoring points is the target for Sunday’s race.

Qualifying for the Mexico City Grand Prix went better than Saturday’s final practice session had suggested for Alpine. Pierre Gasly reached Q3 and qualified 10th with a best time of 1min 17.153secs. Franco Colapinto was knocked out in Q2 and qualified 12th with a time of 1min 17.640secs.

A difficult final practice

The morning did not go well. Colapinto was 12th in Free Practice 3 with 1min 18.652secs, while Gasly was 13th with 1min 18.674secs. Managing Director Steve Nielsen said both drivers had found it harder than expected, especially when it came to getting the tyres up to temperature.

Gasly said the cold tyres had cost him grip in the session but that things changed for qualifying. “It’s a tight window to perform and it is difficult to get it right sometimes,” he said.

Gasly just short of Racing Bulls

The midfield was close all weekend. Both cars got through Q1, and according to Nielsen, Gasly kept a set of new Soft tyres for the race. In Q3 Gasly had a strong first run. Nielsen said the first two thirds of his final lap were also good, but a scrappier final sector left him behind the Racing Bulls cars.

“I have no regrets in Q3, I gave it everything I had, and we just lack a couple of hundredths to Racing Bulls who seem to have a little bit on us at the moment.” – Pierre Gasly

The Frenchman said this has been a trend in recent races and is something the team must keep working on. Looking ahead to the race, he named Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad as the drivers he hopes to fight with, and added that the team’s race pace had looked good on Friday.

Colapinto loses time late in the lap

Colapinto was not happy with 12th and believed a place in Q3 had been possible. He said he did not feel comfortable in the car and found it hard to keep the tyres working for a whole lap. His laps started strongly but he lost time as they went on, particularly in the tight final sector.

Nielsen said Colapinto had been slightly slower than Gasly on most runs this weekend. He said the Argentinian had more limitations on braking and that the rear tyres overheated in the final sector, which cost him grip.

The long run to Turn 1

All three Alpine quotes mention the long run from the start to Turn 1 at the Mexico City circuit. Colapinto said the team is usually strong off the line and hopes to make up places on the opening lap. Nielsen described Saturday’s result as “probably a fair reflection of our current level of competitiveness” and said the aim is for both cars to finish in the points.

Saturday in numbers: BWT Alpine Formula One Team

  • Free Practice 3: Franco Colapinto P12 (1min 18.652secs); Pierre Gasly P13 (1min 18.674secs)
  • Qualifying: Pierre Gasly P10 (1min 17.153secs); Franco Colapinto P12 (1min 17.640secs)
  • Car: Alpine A526

The Mexico City Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, with Gasly starting 10th and Colapinto 12th.

Source: media.alpinecars.com