The 2025 Miami Grand Prix was a sobering reminder for Alpine of how far they still have to go in the Formula One pecking order. Once a consistent midfield challenger, the French team left Miami empty-handed as Pierre Gasly trudged home in 13th place, well off the pace and with no realistic chance of scoring points. A stark contrast to some surprising pace for the Frenchman in Saudi Arabia for the Grand Prix prior.
After the underwhelming performance, Gasly didn’t hold back. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the preparations for the next round at Imola, the Frenchman made no bones about his frustration and rage. Gasly’s honest assessment captured the mood in the Alpine camp: grim, dissatisfied and confused. His blunt summary – “We’re just too slow” – offered a raw insight into the mounting tension as the team continues to struggle to replicate the occasional flashes of competitiveness they showed earlier in the year.
Alpine arrived in Florida knowing that a strong performance was crucial. Their season so far has been uneven, but signs of promise in Jeddah and Bahrain had at least suggested that on a good day they could challenge for the lower points positions. Miami, however, proved to be anything but. The street circuit highlighted some of Alpine’s weaknesses. While Oscar Piastri and McLaren were pushing for the podium, Alpine were stuck in the back of the midfield. Jack Doohan, who filled in for Esteban Ocon this weekend, failed to make it to the finish line and retired mid-race. Gasly, meanwhile, never looked like challenging for points. The final result – 13th place, well outside the top ten – was both disappointing and damning.
Gasly didn’t mince words in his post-race reflections, pointing to a fundamental lack of pace. “Things didn’t go the way they should have,” he told reporters. “Seeing the pace today, I don’t think it would have changed the situation. We’re just too slow.” His frustration was not only with the result, but also with the lack of answers. The fact that the car had performed significantly better at earlier races, such as Bahrain and Jeddah, made the Miami outing all the more perplexing for the team. “It’s clear that something went wrong this weekend,” he said. “We were fighting for points with this car in Jeddah and Bahrain and today we finished very far back.”
Perhaps more worrying for Alpine fans is the fact that the team isn’t bringing any upgrades to Imola. In a sport where tenths of a second can make the difference between a car finishing inside or outside the top ten, the lack of technical development could be a significant handicap. Gasly confirmed that the car heading to Imola will be largely unchanged. “Will there be any upgrades at Imola? No, no, the car will be the same,” he admitted. This revelation suggests that Alpine’s focus for the next round is less about innovation and more about understanding – identifying what went wrong in Miami and trying to regain the baseline performance they had earlier in the season.
It’s a worrying sign for a team that in recent years has talked about fighting for the front of the midfield, or even challenging for podiums. At the moment, even consistent points finishes seem a long way off. Miami was supposed to be a chance for redemption after a slow start to the season, but instead it deepened the sense of crisis. Despite the setbacks, Pierre Gasly is not giving up. The Frenchman is targeting a return to form at the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, hoping the team can rediscover the window of opportunity that saw him finish seventh in Bahrain earlier this year.
His comments on the upcoming race made it clear that there is still hope in the Alpine garage – but it’s hope tempered by realism. “We just need to understand why, and make sure we come back to Imola with a package that’s as good as we did in Jeddah and Bahrain,” he explained. Whether Imola’s more traditional, flowing layout will suit the Alpine car better remains to be seen. The team has often performed better on permanent circuits than in the tight confines of street circuits, which could offer some respite.
However, with no technical upgrades on the table and a car that seems to fluctuate wildly in performance from race to race, nothing is guaranteed. So far in 2025, Alpine’s season has been defined by inconsistency. There have been moments when the car has looked genuinely competitive in the midfield – enough to score points and, on rare occasions, threaten the top six. But those flashes of brilliance have been few and far between. Just as often, the team has found itself languishing at the back of the pack, fighting off the likes of Haas and VCARB rather than challenging the likes of Aston Martin or Mercedes.
This kind of performance volatility not only frustrates the drivers, but also makes long-term planning difficult. Without a clear understanding of the car’s strengths and weaknesses, and with development seemingly stalled for the time being, the team is in danger of slipping further down the Constructors’ standings. Gasly, who has been with the team since 2023, is facing a critical period in his career. With the 2026 regulations looming and a number of 2026 grid spots still up for grabs, the next few races could be crucial in determining his long-term future. A continued slump could put pressure on his position – not just within Alpine, but in the wider F1 driver market.
The road to recovery for Alpine looks steep. Miami exposed fundamental problems – not just in the car’s set-up or performance, but in the team’s ability to respond quickly to problems. With no upgrades and morale clearly affected by the lack of results, the spotlight now turns to Imola as a potential turning point. For Pierre Gasly, it’s a chance to reset, push for answers and reignite his 2025 campaign. For Alpine, it’s a moment of reckoning. Continued underperformance will not only derail their season, but also put the team’s management and technical direction under additional scrutiny. So the Imola Grand Prix isn’t just another race. It’s an opportunity for Alpine to prove that Miami was an anomaly and not a symptom of a deeper malaise. If they fail to do so, Gasly’s outburst could be just the beginning of more serious questions to come.
