Pierre Gasly anticipating a ‘relentless’ F1 Hungarian Grand Prix

Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Alpine heads to the Hungaroring with a little ‘confidence’ after scoring points in the past two races

With points in the two most recent races, Alpine heads to the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix with a little momentum despite sitting tenth in the Constructors’ Championship standings.

But the driver responsible for those points anticipates a “relentless” Hungarian Grand Prix.

Pierre Gasly, who followed his sixth-place finish at the British Grand Prix with a P10 at the Belgian Grand Prix, outlined how he was “pleased” to leave Spa with a point for the team, and how the team can head to Budapest with some “confidence.”

“I’m pleased to leave Spa with a points finish after we were able to take advantage of changeable conditions once again,” said Gasly in the team’s media preview. “The race was intense, particularly the opening laps, and we made good decisions as a team that allowed us to benefit well. That is now two races in a row in the top-10 so we head to Hungary with some confidence, and it would be great to continue that before we enter the summer break. The Hungaroring is a very different track to Spa, but similarly relentless.”

Despite the “relentless” nature of the Hungaroring, Gasly feels it is one of the “most enjoyable circuits” on the F1 schedule.

“I find it one of the most enjoyable circuits on the calendar and it feels like a go-kart track with quick corners all following one another as well as short straights. This makes it a very busy lap so getting into a good rhythm is incredibly important from the outset,” added Gasly. “We will continue to aim for Q3 this weekend and a further points finish ahead of the summer. The team is working exceptionally hard and I know the break will be a welcome rest for everyone. One more to go before then and we will all be pushing for the best possible outcome.”

On the other side of the garage, Franco Colapinto, who is still seeking his first points of the season, is “confident” that better results are on the horizon.

“We had a tricky weekend in Spa-Francorchamps even if it felt like we made some steps forward,” said Colapinto. “It feels like we are just on the wrong end of some very small details, which I am confident will come right soon. Sprint weekends are always a challenge as it is important to be on it straight away. The car lacked grip in Free Practice 1 so we tried to maximise everything in Sprint Qualifying. From then we just tried to keep learning as much as possible and by Qualifying we were very close to reaching Q2. Sunday’s race was interesting with the conditions. We were not well placed to score points but I was pleased for Pierre and the team to finish in tenth and at least collect one point.”

Colapinto is also hoping that his history at the circuit — he finished on the podium at the Hungaroring during both the 2022 and 2023 F3 seasons — gives him a boost this week.

“We will keep our heads down and work hard to bring everything together for this weekend in Hungary. I have celebrated a few podiums at the Hungaroring in my junior career and it is a track and city which I enjoy so I’m looking forward to getting out on track,” added the young driver. “As the final race ahead of the summer break we will be hoping to bring in some positive results for the team before everyone takes some well-deserved time off for a few weeks.”

Alpine remains tenth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship standings with 20 points, all from Gasly. They are 15 points behind ninth-place Haas.

But as this teams showed just last season, one big race weekend can change everything.