Pierre Gasly has expressed concern about enduring a “difficult” Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, citing Alpine’s continued top-speed deficit as a significant hurdle.
Alpine revelled in an encouraging weekend last time out in Bahrain as Gasly qualified inside the top five and then converted that into a promising seventh-place finish.
But the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, which combines multiple flat-out blasts with high-speed corners, is expected to exacerbate the limitations of Alpine’s A525 package.
Since an engine freeze was introduced in 2022 to curb spending, Alpine has been at a continuous disadvantage to its rivals with an underpowered Renault powertrain.
The Frenchman has admitted that such a weakness is poised to be exposed more this weekend, where the average speed is anticipated to be set at around 250km/h.
“We are still lacking top speed,” Gasly conceded.
“That’s obviously going to be quite painful around Jeddah, which is full throttle for most of the lap. We still need to get on top of it, but we are working on it.”
Gasly urges Alpine to maximise prospects
Regardless, Gasly, who has scored on three occasions since Jeddah was established on the calendar in 2021, has urged Alpine to ensure it maximises its prospects.
“We know where we are losing time, so now we’ve just got to try and maximise what we have,” he said.
“There have been some positives in terms of car balance and braking, but it’s still very early, and we’ve got work to do.”
Alpine goes into the last leg of the current triple-header ninth in the Constructors’ Championship with six points, which all came from Gasly’s performance in Bahrain.
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