Gasly's concession amid huge Alpine changes

Pierre Gasly has conceded that Alpine is lacking 'overall potential compared to rival Formula 1 teams with its A523 machine.

Alpine's hopes of closing the gap to the top three teams in 2023 has failed, with the team languishing in sixth place in the Constructors', as Aston Martin took a giant leap forward with McLaren also improving after a sizeable mid-season upgrade.

As a result of the poor performances, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane left the team after the Belgian Grand Prix, with CEO Laurent Rossi being removed by Renault Group chair Luca de Meo the week before in Hungary.

Despite a podium in Monaco and top three in the Belgian Sprint for the team, Gasly feels it has failed to live up to expectations.

Gasly's concession

"We are consistently trying to chase the balance that I like," Gasly told media including RacingNews365.

"If anything, it felt slightly better at the start of the year, compared to recent events so we need to figure out if it is upgrade-related or to do with the track or tyres.

"There is some work to do, and I think the overall potential is not quite there compared to our competitors.

"It seems there is also like a quite fine, small window to really make the car operate at its best. It is just not easy.

"It is good that we have a couple of weeks to review the start of the year and I am sure we'll come back stronger in the rest of the year."