Pierre Gasly is experiencing one of his strongest Fridays of 2025 in Las Vegas – suddenly, even reaching Q3 seems realistic for Alpine.
Pierre Gasly is more confident than he has been at any other point this season after Friday’s practice sessions in Las Vegas. Although the Frenchman finished both sessions in twelfth place, he appears to be much stronger than the times suggest. The reason for this is the chaotic second practice session, which was interrupted several times and in which Gasly was in the top 5 for a long time.
He says: “It was an encouraging day for us. I felt comfortable in the car right from the start, and that’s important on a difficult track like this because you need confidence to take enough risks.” The basis is right: “The balance was good throughout the day. There are a few things I still want to work on, but overall I’m comfortable and can push the car to the limit.“
Gasly is annoyed about the chaos in the evening: ”The second practice session was chaotic, partly because of the red flags at the end, and we weren’t able to complete our program.” Nevertheless, he is taking confidence with him: “I have a good qualifying history here, and I want to keep the statistics up. The goal is to be in the mix for Q3 – we will do our best to achieve that.”
Alpine and Las Vegas: A rare symbiosis of success
It’s not entirely surprising that Gasly is fast on Friday. Data from the past two years shows a clear pattern: Alpine gains an average of 0.44 seconds per lap in Las Vegas compared to its usual season pace—more than any other team in the field. The track suits the car unusually well, and this trend looks set to continue in 2025.
However, the picture is not perfect. Gasly’s teammate Franco Colapinto in particular is struggling noticeably. Alpine’s strong Friday is therefore not a team phenomenon, but primarily a Gasly phenomenon – at least so far.
Colapinto struggles: “Never had a good feeling”
Franco Colapinto is having a completely different day in the same car. “It was a pretty difficult day, I never really felt comfortable in the car,” says the Argentine. “The first session felt pretty bad in terms of balance and grip, and I couldn’t find my way.”
Things were a little better in the second practice session: “We showed improvements, but some problems remained.” For him, too, the red flags disrupted the work on the soft tires. And, as was the case recently in Brazil, he lacks confidence: “I’m struggling to get a good feeling in the car. We need to understand why some recurring problems are more pronounced under certain conditions.”
Colapinto remains optimistic, however: “Historically, we’ve often started the weekend slowly this year and improved step by step. We’re working hard today and trying to take a step forward tomorrow.”
