Gasly: “The timeline is as soon as possible” as Alpine targets steady climb back to the front

Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly offered an optimistic assessment of Alpine’s long‑term ambitions, responding to recent comments from Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore, who refused to set a public timeline for returning the team to championship contention.

Asked how he reacted to Briatore’s refusal to commit to a timeline, Gasly said the entire team shares the same ambition, but must remain realistic about the scale of the task.

“I think the timeline is the same for all of us in the team: as soon as possible. What does that mean exactly? Realistically, we’ve got to look at what we can improve right now in the short term and know our strengths, weaknesses as a team, and how much time we have to put all the pieces together.”

Gasly stressed that Alpine’s rebuild cannot happen overnight: “Flavio has been here long enough to know that it doesn’t happen overnight. We all wish it could, but the reality is very different.”

For now, the team’s immediate target remains clear: “The target was definitely to sort of be top of the midfield and slowly getting closer to the cars ahead, and that’s what we’ve got to focus on in the short term.”

Despite the challenges, Gasly expressed strong confidence in Briatore’s leadership and Alpine’s long‑term plan: “I fully believe in Flavio’s sort of master plan and what we’ve got to put in place.

"I think a lot of steps in the right direction have been taken since last year, and there’s still a long way to go… but I think eventually, I really hope we can achieve that.”

Briatore recently described Gasly as “one of the top six drivers on the grid”. Gasly welcomed the compliment — but kept the focus on performance rather than praise.

“I think I am. It’s nice to hear it from Flavio, but I’ve been here long enough to know that I’ve got to focus on my own business.”

He pointed out that driver performance is often limited by machinery, not talent: “Sometimes the best I can do is a 15th place last year. It doesn’t mean that I’m a bad driver. Sometimes you get a car that allows you to finish in the top five, win or top 10, and you’ve just got to extract the best you can.”

Gasly believes he is performing well — but still has room to grow: “Can I get even better? Yes, I can, and that’s what I work for every day. I still think I can deliver even stronger performances than I’m doing.”

He also praised the working relationship with Briatore: “We’re working very well together, so I’m happy with the dynamic we have as a team and just want us to be able to perform even better than we’re doing.”