Last Updated on November 23 2024, 2:27 pm

Alpine were having an F1 season to forget until the monsoon came in Brazil. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly drove through treacherous conditions to claim the podium places behind the race winner Max Verstappen.

This revolutionised the team’s season adding 35 points to the 14 they had accumulated over the previous 20 rounds. This has set up a three way battle for sixth place in the championship with Haas just three points behind and V-CARB another two further back.

The Alpine team is undergoing big changes following Renault’s decision to stop producing their own F1 power units and become a customer of Mercedes in 2026. Flavio Briatore has been appointed as a ‘special advisor’ by the Renault board which then precipitated another round of leadership changes.

 

 

 

Resurgent Alpine in Vegas

In the cold conditions in Las Vegas, Pierre Gasly aced qualifying finishing behind just Carlos Sainz and pole sitter George Russell. Given the Alpine power unit is around 40BHP down on power when compared to the others, this was an impressive feat given the high speed nature of the circuit.

This is Gasly’s highest qualifying position since he joined F1 in 2017 and is also Alpine’s best starting slot which was a P4 in Brazil by Esteban Ocon last time out.

Max Verstappen who was just fifth bemoaned the fact that Red Bull had taken the conscious decision this year not to develop a low drag rear wing which is used just at Monza and in Las Vegas. In fact before the session, Sky’s Ted Kravitz revealed how the Red Bull mechanics had shaved off some of the rear wing on the RB20, in attempt to reduce drag along the second longest straight on the current calendar.

When asked how it felt to qualify in the top three, an excited Pierre Gasly was keen to tell all. “It’s the first time ever so it’s unbelievable. Honestly we didn’t think we would be able to achieve a top three in the quali,” Gasly said.

Hamilton “speechless” at Mercedes

 

 

 

Gasly reveals “aggressive” setup

“It was an incredible lap, especially around this track you’re flirting with the walls everywhere through the lap – a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement.

“I knew crossing the line it was a good lap, but when they came up on the radio telling me we’re lining up third tomorrow… it’s just amazing so really happy,” the Frenchman revealed to assembled media.

Pierre was pressed as to why the Alpine was so strong in Vegas and it appears they took a different decision from that of Red Bull. “We went with a pretty aggressive package in terms of downforce, so we are running very little downforce around this track,” revealed Pierre.

“We try to maximise the straight lines, we obviously make our lives slightly harder in the corners. But yeah, I think it’s a challenging track. It’s very cold conditions. It’s quite an outlier in the season.”

New team set to join F1 in 2026

 

 

 

Hulkenberg closest challenger

Pierre revealed the car felt good out of the box in practice one and improved in the second and third practice sessions. Alpine had saved only one set of tyres for Pierre in Q3, so the Alpine driver had to make his one and only run in the session count.

Nico Hulkenberg who starts in P9, is Gasly’s closest rival for the three way battle for sixth place as Alpine look to strengthen the hold they have on that position.

Despite a podium last time out, Pierre is refusing to get carried away with thoughts of another tomorrow. “Well, at the minute, that’s not really what I’m thinking about,” he insisted. “I think we know where the target is for us. We’re fighting Haas and AlphaTauri [RB] in the constructors’.

“Obviously, whatever happened in that quali is amazing. It feels good to be in front of Max and McLaren and these guys. But at the end of the day, it’s not our fight. So we’ll give our best shot tomorrow.

“It’s a challenging one around here with the graining. So we’ll make sure we do our homework tonight to maximise the chances tomorrow. But for sure, from P3, we increase our chances to get some good points.”

Ferrari angry: F1 smashes down loophole

 

 

 

Piastri admits concern

Whilst late in the year, Alpine have turned around their fortunes which at the start of the year saw the drivers complete the last row of the grid. Gasly was also last on the grid in Britain, started from the pit lane in Hungary in July and was disqualified from qualifying in Azerbaijan so the come back has been dramatic.

Newly appointed team boss Oliver Oakes praised his driver stating: “He’s been happy all weekend. I think since Austin [last month] you’ve seen every weekend we’re getting better with this upgrade. There’s a bit of dialling in. Pierre’s driving well, you can see that, he’s putting it all together.”

With McLaren leading the charge for the constructors championship and Ferrari in a deficit by 36 points, this weekend is crucial for both teams and Oscar Piastri expressed concern that he and Lando Norris were behind an Alpine.

Hamilton denied Ferrari test

 

 

 

Vegas a Ferrari track

“Yeah, I’d say it’s more concerning to have an Alpine in front of us all to be honest,” he said. “Clearly Gasly has been quick the last few weekends now, and I think that’s like three or four weekends in a row where he’s been very quick in quali.

“I think we expected Ferrari to be quick, I think we didn’t expect Mercedes to be so quick, but I think that’s been a surprise for us but it sounds like it’s been a surprise for them too,” concluded the Aussie.

Ferrari went well here last year, with Charles Leclerc claiming pole position. Carlos Sainz believes the team needs to win in Las Vegas, because next time out in Qatar the circuit and temperatures will greatly favour the papaya liveried cars.

Colapinto may miss Vegas Grand Prix

 

 

 

Report: Drivers meet new F1 race director

The revolving front door at the Place de Concorde saw its next FIA officer depart just days before the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Neils Wittich was recruited into the role of F1 race director following the departure of Michael Massi but with just three races remaining of the 2024 season he was dismissed without explanation.

His replacement is Rui Marques who has been the race director for F2 and F3. His final duties before taking control of F1 racing was to adjudicate at the Macau Grand Prix where he was forced to deploy the red flag no less than twelve times in qualifying, as the drivers struggled in wet conditions with machines they were not familiar with.

Neils Wittich had come in for criticism this season and in particular at the recent Sao Paulo Grand Prix. He was forced to postpone qualifying until Sunday morning due to monsoon like conditions yet come daybreak, conditions were little better… READ MORE