Alpine gambled on a rain set-up for the Formula One race in Australia – the car’s performance was nevertheless worse than in the test in Bahrain
For qualifying in Australia 2025, Alpine opted for a “50-50 set-up” that was prepared for both dry and wet conditions. This decision was made due to the weather-related uncertainty expected for Sunday’s race.
Thus, 9th and 14th places for Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan in dry qualifying may not show Alpine’s full potential and they might have beaten the Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton in eighth place was just seven thousandths of a second faster than Gasly.
“We went for a 50-50 set-up as rain was forecast for tomorrow. Today, with a completely dry set-up, we might have been able to beat Lewis, but we had to factor in the possibility of rain,” explains Gasly.
The team is confident that the choice of set-up will pay off in the race, especially in possible wet conditions. The 2024 season has shown that Alpine is a force to be reckoned with in the rain: “We are strong in the rain. The last time it rained heavily, things went well for us. I hope it goes the same way tomorrow.”
Not only did Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly achieve a surprising double podium in Brazil, but the team also showed strong rain pace at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier in the season, at a stage when the car was not yet really competitive. Nevertheless, both drivers were able to score points there as well.
Gasly: Not as good as in Bahrain
Gasly, who showed a solid performance in qualifying after some difficulties in practice, is pleased with his team’s progress, but: “It was more difficult than expected to find the right feeling. We couldn’t get the same impression as in Bahrain. We had some sessions with a lot of traffic and also some braking problems yesterday.”
Despite these challenges, Gasly is pleased with the result: “I’m happy with the progress we’ve made over the weekend. It was clear that getting into Q3 would be difficult, but we did it.”
For Gasly, the race for the best positions in qualifying was a constant battle for fine margins. The competition in the midfield is closer than ever, which increases the pressure on the drivers: “It really feels like it’s a lottery as to who will be on top in the end. But we’ve positioned ourselves well, and a lot can happen in the race.”
Doohan: Setback due to Hamilton spin
For Jack Doohan, who is driving for Alpine in his first season as a regular driver, qualifying was also challenging. In Q2 in particular, an unfortunate situation arose when a yellow flag due to an incident involving Lewis Hamilton prevented him from achieving a better result. “Q1 was strong. Q2 was looking good too. I think we were confident of making it to Q3. Unfortunately, we had bad luck with the yellow flag for Lewis, which ended our chances abruptly,” says Doohan.
Despite this setback, the young Australian remains confident for his home race: “We have made steady progress, but unfortunately we have had some bad luck. It certainly won’t be the last time,” says Doohan, who emphasizes that the car set-up improved significantly over the course of the weekend: “There have been some good changes. We switched to a more standardized set-up for qualifying. I felt much more comfortable straight away, which helped a lot.”
Gasly, for his part, can’t wait for the race to start: ‘I was happy to sacrifice [the pace] for a bit more speed in the rain tomorrow, should it come to that. I’m looking forward to the first race of the year. Hopefully Lewis can be a bit slower than usual with a new engine in a new car.’
