Alpine F1 and Pierre Gasly target qualifying up‑turn after Monaco podium

Pierre Gasly received his trophy for a third‑place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix after Alpine successfully appealed a pit‑lane speeding penalty that had initially dropped him to seventh. The French driver praised the reliability of Alpine’s new Mercedes‑supplied power unit, saying it “works perfectly” and helped the team climb to fifth in the constructors’ standings.

Alpine team principal Steve Nielsen acknowledged that, despite recent points finishes, the outfit remains far behind the top four teams in qualifying. He said that closing the gap will require new‑generation car development rather than incremental upgrades, and noted ongoing work to better exploit the budget‑cap. Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Alpine plans to introduce further upgrades, hoping to convert strong race pace into better grid positions.

Gasly also highlighted that technical problems affecting rivals – such as George Russell’s pit‑lane issue in Canada and Charles Leclerc’s late‑race incident in Barcelona – have indirectly aided Alpine’s recent results, but stressed the need for the team to improve on its own to remain competitive.