‘I’m sideways constantly’ – How Alpine’s unruly F1 vehicle troubled Pierre Gasly in Singapore

While Russell’s and Hadjar’s comebacks may have been gradual, Gasly couldn’t fend them off and ultimately finished just outside the top 10.

By lap 55 of 62, the Alpine driver was clinging to 10th place, with just an eight-second gap to seventh-placed Lawson, but tire wear took its toll on his performance – he lost 10 seconds to the New Zealander over the final six laps, and even 14 seconds to Hadjar, who overtook him for 10th place.

This tire degradation was clearly linked to the car’s performance. “On a track with numerous low-speed corners and a lot of traction required, we simply ran out of tires after three laps,” Gasly expressed regretfully.

“In qualifying, with cold tires, over one lap they don't get much heat. In the race, it feels fine at first; one lap, two laps, but by the third lap, our tires are gone and we lose traction. We know this is a limitation of the car, but I was a bit more optimistic.”

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

When asked if he had hoped to maintain his position ahead of Russell and Hadjar, Gasly asserted: “Once again, our issue is I can’t exit any corner effectively. It’s one thing to be slow, but if you can at least come out of the corner with decent speed, you can keep them behind. The issue is I’m sideways every time I apply the throttle.

“I was doing everything I could with the battery [against Russell], but I still didn’t feel that I was ever really in a position to... Even though I felt slightly quicker than Nico at certain points, I just can’t exit the corner properly. Whenever I apply power, I'm sideways, losing ground, and then I can’t make it up later on the straight.”

“It’s pretty evident what we need to focus on. We understand why we face some of these issues with the rims we’re utilizing. But on a track like that, it significantly impacts us.”

Just over a month ago, Alpine was trailing Racing Bulls by only three points in the fight for fifth in the constructors’ championship, but that changed when the FIA's International Court of Appeal’s ruling regarding the Monaco Grand Prix controversy led to a 13-point shift.

Gasly’s difficulties in Singapore were further exacerbated by Franco Colapinto’s retirement due to a suspected driveline problem, marking a third consecutive race without points for Alpine, which now finds itself a staggering 32 points behind Racing Bulls in the standings.