Colapinto rues traction for Alpine's struggles at Monte Carlo

Having returned to the F1 paddock with Alpine at last weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto revealed that the French-British team has encountered issues with the car's performance in low-speed corners.

The Alpine pair Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto fell at the first hurdle in qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix as they ended up 18th and 20th quickest, although they will move up the grid thanks to the penalties for Bearman and Stroll.

Expanding on Alpine's issues around the twisty and narrow streets of the Principality, Colapinto revealed that the French-British team has encountered issues with the car's performance in low-speed corners.

“It was not the easiest day for us today. We have struggled with the pace of the car, in particular on the Soft tyres in low speed corners where we face some difficulties with traction.

"We expected to be able to extract more from the car here but that has not been the case and the result from Qualifying sets us a challenge to move forward tomorrow. We will look to capitalise on the uncertainty the new mandatory two-stop at this track will bring to the race.

"No one knows what advantage the new rule will give to teams, which will make the race even more unpredictable, especially with how a Safety Car could make or break anyone’s strategy. We will keep our heads down and work tonight to prepare for the challenge tomorrow," concluded Colapinto.

Reflecting on Alpine's qualifying day at Monte Carlo, Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore conceded that the Enstone-based outfit had expected more from the Monaco weekend.

Flavio Briatore: “We thought coming to Monaco we would be more competitive than we have shown so far this weekend. It has not been a good Saturday and it is clear we need to improve and give the drivers a car that is quicker and more consistent.

"With two stops in the race tomorrow it gives us more of a chance with strategy to make a move in the pit-stops, so let’s see what we can do with the engineers to help Pierre and Franco tomorrow.”