The Japanese Grand Prix left mixed feelings for Alpine. While Pierre Gasly scored points again with a solid seventh place, Franco Colapinto finished 16th after a race conditioned
by external factors.After the race, the French team's executive advisor, Flavio Briatore, analyzed the team's performance in Suzuka. “It was another positive weekend for the team, with another good result scoring points at the start of the season. In addition, repeating it on a different track configuration such as Suzuka confirms the gains we made in Shanghai and shows that we are in the fight with Red Bull as the fourth fastest car currently,”
said the Italian leader.
The contrast between the two pilots was clear. Gasly played an outstanding defense against Max Verstappen for much of the race, while Colapinto failed to get into the fight for points. In that regard, Briatore praised the Frenchman and explained the Argentine's main problem: "Pierre returned to a fantastic race and extremely well under pressure to keep Max behind him for more than 25 laps. The Safety Car came out at a bad time for Franco, who was very close to the points in the first stint.”
The Safety Car that conditioned Colapinto's race came about as a result of an Oliver Bearman accident involving the Pilarense himself. The Haas driver tried to pass it on Turn 13 with a notable difference in speed (around 45km/h more), but he lost control and hit the wall
.On the other hand, the advisor focused on the classification as a weak point that conditioned the entire competition: “For Franco, Saturday's result was a limiting factor and meant that he was always chasing in the race. The goal should be to place him in a better position to compete more intensely in the next races.”
Despite the individual result, Alpine remains competitive at the start of the season and is fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 16 points. Looking ahead, Briatore left a clear message: “With the short break, we will not stand still and we will work hard at Enstone to add more performance to the car and continue to give the same opportunity to both drivers to perform
and score points.”When Colapinto returns to racing
Inthe face of the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Argentine driver would only return to the ring in May, for the Miami Grand Prix, which will take place between Friday 1st and Sunday 3rd
