Pierre Gasly: We definitely have things to improve.

      Following Friday’s practice sessions at Spielberg, Alpine are not satisfied with the car’s speed. Both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto hope they can improve on Saturday.

      Pierre Gasly (14th): “It was quite a tough day, and we definitely have things to improve. Every Friday we talk about how minimal the gaps are, and on such a short lap like Austria, that’s really the case. One or two tenths separate six or seven positions. That shows how important it is to nail the lap and squeeze the maximum out of every detail.

      I’m fairly happy with my laps in both FP1 and FP2. This evening we need to assess which solutions are working and which are not, and find opportunities to improve.

      In the second session, the team found some minor floor damage. At the end of the session, I had some issues with the car’s handling, and now we know why. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

      Franco Colapinto (20th): “Given how things have gone at previous rounds and now again here in Austria, I’m having more trouble with Fridays. The car handles fine—actually, it felt better in FP1 than in FP2. We need to find more pace, especially in qualifying trim. On a single lap, the car isn’t as strong as it is with a full tank, and we have some work to do to improve our lap time.

      Looking back at how the team and I overcame the issues we had in Barcelona and Montreal, I feel confident that we’ll improve on Saturday compared to Friday and fight for higher positions in qualifying. On such a short lap, the gaps are minimal, so every little thing counts.”