Key Highlights
- Pierre Gasly started seventh on the Marina Bay grid but slipped outside the top 10 due to severe rear traction loss and tyre overheating after just three laps.
- Gasly lost crucial late positions to Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, attributing his struggles to getting sideways on corner exit and equipment choices involving wheel rims.
- A double non-points finish—compounded by Franco Colapinto’s mechanical retirement—leaves Alpine trailing Racing Bulls by 32 points in the constructors’ standings.
Tyre Overheating Plagues Alpine’s Singapore Grand Prix Campaign
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has addressed the severe handling and behavioural deficits that unraveled his race at the Singapore Grand Prix, where a promising grid position failed to translate into a points finish. Gasly lined up seventh under the Marina Bay lights after capitalizing on technical setbacks for Isack Hadjar and a grid penalty served by Mercedes driver George Russell. While the French racer lagged behind Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in the opening qualifying segments, he had managed to edge Lawson by 0.144 seconds during the final shootout to head the midfield pack.
That initial grid advantage vanished almost immediately when the lights went out. Gasly conceded spots to both Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg on the run into Turn 1, an uncharacteristic setback for the Enstone-based outfit. We had no power out of the line,
he commented. We need to review, because this year we’ve had really good starts.
Although Russell and Hadjar were forced to launch recovery drives from deeper in the field, Gasly could not fend off the charging cars behind and steadily lost ground.
Severe Traction Deficits on the Marina Bay Street Circuit
Gasly remained in contention for the final point as late as lap 55 of the 62-lap event, sitting in 10th place and only eight seconds adrift of Lawson in seventh. However, his pace cratered in the closing stages as thermal degradation took a devastating toll. Over the final six laps, Gasly dropped an additional 10 seconds to Lawson and surrendered 14 seconds to Hadjar, who swept through to claim the final point.
Gasly clarified that the rapid drop-off in pace was fundamentally linked to the mechanical behaviour of the Alpine package. On a track with a lot of low-speed [corners], a lot of tractions, we just ran out of tyres after three laps,
Gasly lamented. In quali you have cold tyres, over one lap they don’t have time to heat up so much. In the race, out of the box it feels good; one lap, two laps, third lap, our tyres are over the roof and we have no traction. We know it’s a limitation of the car, but I was a bit more hopeful.
When asked whether he had anticipated defending against Russell and Hadjar over the full race distance, Gasly pinpointed throttle application out of slow corners as his major undoing. Again, our problem is I can’t get out of any corner. It’s one thing to be slow, but if you can actually get out of the corner with reasonable speed, you can keep them behind. The problem is I’m sideways every time I touch the throttle,
he explained.
He continued detailing his defensive efforts: I was trying anything I could with the battery [against Russell], but again, I don’t feel like today I was ever in a position to actually… Even I felt a tiny bit faster than Nico at times, but I just can’t get out of the corner. Any time I go on power, I’m sideways, I’m losing a bit of ground and then I can’t make it up later in the straight. I think it’s pretty clear what we’ve got to work on. We know why we have some of these issues with the rims we’re running. But it’s just on a track like that, it’s costing us a lot.
Why This Matters
Alpine’s frustrating evening in Singapore exacerbates an increasingly steep uphill climb in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship. Just over a month prior, Alpine sat merely three points adrift of Racing Bulls in the scrap for fifth position. However, that margin ballooned after an FIA International Court of Appeal ruling concerning the Monaco Grand Prix triggered an immediate 13-point swing in the standings.
The Marina Bay round marked Alpine’s third consecutive race without scoring a point. Gasly’s traction-induced drop to 11th was mirrored by the early exit of Franco Colapinto, who was forced into retirement by a suspected driveline issue. With Racing Bulls securing points through Lawson, the deficit between the two midfield rivals has expanded to a sizable 32 points with dwindling rounds left on the calendar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Pierre Gasly lose places at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix?
Gasly experienced poor initial getaway off the grid, stating that the car had no power out of the line, which allowed both Liam Lawson and Nico Hülkenberg to overtake him before Turn 1.
What caused Alpine’s severe tyre degradation during the race?
Gasly explained that the car suffered from significant rear instability, leaving him sideways under throttle application on corner exits. This continuous wheelspin caused the tyre temperatures to spike beyond their operating window after just three laps, entirely eliminating traction.
How does the Singapore GP result impact Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship?
With Gasly finishing outside the points and Franco Colapinto retiring due to a suspected driveline problem, Alpine suffered its third consecutive non-scoring weekend. The team now trails fifth-place Racing Bulls by 32 points.
