BWT Alpine Formula One Team: strong signs undone by first-lap chaos in Las Vegas 2025

The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix offered BWT Alpine Formula One Team a chance to build on the momentum seen in Brazil. The weekend began with encouraging pace and promising signs from both sides of the garage.

But any ambitions for points were short-lived, as a messy first lap effectively ended the race for both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto. Once again, the potential was there — but the outcome slipped away in the opening corners.

Free Practice: encouraging pace for Gasly, tougher start for Colapinto

From the first laps on Thursday evening, BWT Alpine Formula One Team looked dialled in with the Alpine A525, particularly under Pierre Gasly’s control. The Frenchman delivered two consistent P12 finishes in FP1 and FP2, showing confidence in low-grip conditions and extracting solid performance from the C4 and C5 compounds.

The team made steady progress with the car’s balance, despite limited long-run data after two late-session red flags in FP2. Pierre Gasly was comfortable pushing near the limits — an essential trait on a tricky street layout like the Strip Circuit.

Franco Colapinto, meanwhile, faced a more challenging start. The Argentine struggled to find consistency, finishing 20th and 16th in the two sessions. Balance and grip were lacking, particularly on the soft tyre, and a number of recurring issues under braking persisted across both runs. Still, there were clear signs of improvement between sessions as the rookie adapted.

In total, the team completed 90 laps on Thursday — 273 km for Pierre Gasly, 285 km for Franco Colapinto — enough to give the engineers a reasonable foundation heading into qualifying.

Qualifying: Gasly reaches Q3 again, Colapinto narrowly misses out

Qualifying on Friday night took place in extremely tricky conditions. Cold temperatures and persistent rain left the circuit unpredictable. As always in Las Vegas, the grip levels were inconsistent — made worse by standing water and painted lines that caught out even the most experienced drivers.

In these conditions, BWT Alpine Formula One Team once again leaned on the experience of Pierre Gasly, who built up pace through Q1 and Q2 to secure a second consecutive Q3 appearance. Despite some difficulty heating the intermediates in the final session, he qualified a strong 10th — confirming the team’s upward trajectory since São Paulo.

On the other side of the garage, Franco Colapinto showed marked improvement. More confident in the Alpine A525 under wet conditions, he looked set to challenge for a Q3 slot until a slide over the Turn 15 kerb on his final flying lap cost him significant time. He would line up 15th on the grid — a solid effort considering Thursday’s struggles.

The result left BWT Alpine Formula One Team optimistic: the Alpine A525 was competitive in both wet and dry, and the midfield fight was wide open.

Race: Turn 1 contact destroys both drivers’ chances

It all unravelled within seconds of the start. At Turn 1, Gabriel Bortoleto braked too late and made contact with Lance Stroll, who then veered into Pierre Gasly. The Alpine A525 was spun around, damaging the rear structure in the process. Further back, Franco Colapinto was struck from behind by Alex Albon amid the midfield chaos.

Both cars sustained floor and diffuser damage — a critical loss of aerodynamic performance on a circuit requiring rear-end stability in the long straights and sharp braking zones. Pierre Gasly pitted as early as Lap 2 for hard tyres, while Franco Colapinto extended his first stint until Lap 25, switching to mediums. In both cases, the damage prevented any meaningful recovery.

The two Alpine A525s finished well outside the points, in 15th and 17th places respectively, having lost performance and track position from the outset.

They said it

Pierre Gasly (15th)

“Our race was decided in the opening meters and it’s a shame we couldn’t show our potential today. Gabriel [Bortoleto] was way too optimistic going into Turn 1. He hit Lance [Stroll], who then clipped me and sent me spinning. The rear of my car was heavily damaged.

It was a complicated evening, and I feel sorry for the whole team because I was feeling good in the car all weekend. I would’ve loved to see what we could have done. We were competitive in both dry and wet conditions, and I was motivated to be in the fight. I’m convinced we could have battled for points.

Now we turn to Qatar, where the conditions will be completely different. Two races to go — we’ll keep pushing to the end.”

Franco Colapinto (17th)

“This wasn’t the result we were hoping for. I got hit from behind right at the start, which damaged the car and cost us downforce for the whole race.

I had a decent getaway and tried to avoid the chaos in Turn 1, but I got hit by Alex [Albon]. It felt like a light contact, but the floor and diffuser took a big hit. Hard to say if that’s the main cause, but the car felt completely different from previous sessions.

The balance was off, and we lacked grip — the rear was sliding a lot. It’s a shame, because we always want to do our best, but some things are out of our control in races like this. Now the goal is to reset quickly and finish the season on a high note in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”

Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor

“Both our drivers were caught up in a chaotic start through no fault of their own, which damaged the rear of both cars. Pierre’s race was effectively over after an overly ambitious move by another driver at Turn 1.

The resulting damage caused a major loss of aero performance. Franco was also hit, which compromised the race for the entire team, and we finished well outside the points.

While this circuit presents its own unique challenges, we’re now heading to Qatar — a track with plenty of fast corners, which might better suit our car than recent rounds.”

Results – 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Source : BWT Alpine Formula One Team