Alpine’s Franco Colapinto admitted to a tricky Sprint Qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix, while teammate Pierre Gasly is optimistic about scoring points in the Sprint.
Colapinto Reflects on Difficult Qualifying
Colapinto, who managed to reach the second stage of Sprint Qualifying, will start the Sprint from P16. He said it was tricky, especially since he didn’t know the track, which made things more difficult. Colapinto added that the car wasn’t in a bad place in FP1, but he couldn’t find the step he wanted into Sprint Qualifying and that they lacked a bit of pace.
He acknowledged the car’s potential, highlighting Pierre Gasly’s performance in reaching SQ3 as a positive sign for the team. Colapinto said he needs to understand more from his side.
Gasly Confident After Strong Performance
Pierre Gasly reflected on his impressive Sprint Qualifying performance at the Chinese Grand Prix. The Alpine driver is set to start Saturday’s Sprint from seventh on the grid. He managed to advance to the final part of Sprint Qualifying on Friday.
Gasly said he was extremely pleased with his performance, especially after last week. He believes the team found a lot more performance and learned from Melbourne. Gasly tried to put everything together and felt a lot better in the car straight from the first lap. He added that it’s good to feel in the mix and be in the top 10 again.
Graining Concerns for the Sprint Race
Gasly is confident about scoring points. He said he’s been feeling good in the car, and there’s definitely more potential than they’ve seen in Melbourne.
Graining was pretty bad for everyone in practice this morning, so it’s going to be a nice challenge. Gasly said he is looking forward to it.
Gasly is targeting more points in Saturday’s Sprint.