Gasly’s FP2 Incident and Alpine’s Response
Gasly’s FP2 Incident and Alpine’s Response
During Free Practice 2 ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly experienced a significant crash that resulted in a red flag. The incident occurred with just over 15 minutes remaining in the second session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Friday. Gasly lost control on the exit of the Fagnes medium-speed chicane, clipping the barrier and causing extensive damage to his car, including the rear wing and potentially the gearbox and drivetrain.
Despite the heavy impact, Gasly was able to walk away from the accident. He described the event, stating, “I just had a big snap, lost the car, but it was a huge snap and it took a lot longer to recover and by the time I recovered I was already off the track and could not get back on track.” He also noted that the day had been productive for testing, with various parts tried across both Alpine cars.
Steve Nielsen, Alpine’s Managing Director, confirmed that Gasly was unharmed but the car sustained damage. Nielsen explained that the team had already planned to change the Power Unit on Gasly’s car before Saturday’s sessions. While acknowledging a substantial list of tasks for the mechanics, he expressed confidence that the car would be ready for the next day, stating, “No problem to be ready for tomorrow.”
Nielsen also commented on the team’s strategy for the practice sessions. He mentioned that the morning session focused on accumulating data rather than achieving fast lap times. The afternoon session, however, shifted focus to lap times. Gasly had set a competitive time, but it was deleted due to track limits at Turn 4. Nielsen indicated that the car showed more pace at Spa than in recent races, and the team aims to maintain this performance.
Performance and Challenges for Other Teams
While Gasly’s incident marked a challenging end to FP2 for Alpine, other teams faced their own dynamics. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in FP2, demonstrating a significant turnaround after struggling in the first session. Antonelli was 0.190 seconds quicker than McLaren’s Lando Norris and a substantial 1.285 seconds faster than his teammate, George Russell.
Russell, who finished eighth in FP1 and was notably slower than Antonelli in FP2, reported issues with cold rear tyres and sliding. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes trackside engineering director, acknowledged a “messy first session” for Mercedes but noted that the drivers were more content with the car in the afternoon. Antonelli’s strong performance extended to long-run laps, where he was quicker than Norris and Russell.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who topped the first practice session, finished third fastest in FP2. He noted that the car was in a good window and that the gap to the front was expected. Verstappen also highlighted the energy management challenges at Spa, with cars experiencing a loss of electrical energy on the straights, a phenomenon known as “clipping.”
Norris, who will face a grid penalty this weekend for exceeding his permitted number of batteries, expressed mixed feelings about his car’s performance. He found FP1 challenging but was slightly happier with FP2, though he still described the car as “very difficult to drive.”
Lewis Hamilton was off the pace. Ferrari faced the classic Spa compromise of balancing downforce for cornering speed with straight-line speed. Hamilton noted that the engine felt like it was losing power on the straights, particularly through Blanchimont, where cars could drop from almost 320 km/h to nearly 270 km/h due to battery depletion.
Red Bull also experienced technical issues, having to revert to a standard rear wing after consecutive crashes for Verstappen in high-speed corners. This ‘flip-flop’ wing, designed to provide a performance benefit, was found to be closing too much, reducing downforce. Technical director Pierre Wache confirmed the issue was mechanical and had been fixed, with a revised version of the wing expected for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In other team news, Racing Bulls introduced an upgrade on Arvid Lindblad’s car this weekend, following an agreement that the driver who qualified ahead at the British Grand Prix would receive the new parts for Spa. Liam Lawson is expected to receive the next upgrade later in the year.
Franco Colapinto’s Strong Showing and Haas’s Progress
Amidst the various challenges and performances, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto delivered a notable performance in FP2, securing seventh place. He finished ahead of George Russell and was 0.15 seconds faster than the quickest Racing Bull. Colapinto also outperformed his teammate Gasly in both practice sessions, by three-tenths in FP1 and 1.8 seconds in FP2, even considering Gasly’s deleted fastest lap time.
Colapinto attributed his improved pace to feeling more comfortable with the car this year and to the cooler conditions and lower-speed corners at Spa-Francorchamps. His strong showing suggests a positive trajectory for the Argentinian driver.
Haas also had a decent showing, with Ollie Bearman reporting that the car “felt strong” on Friday. The team conducted back-to-back testing of a new front wing with Bearman, who noted a slight improvement. While acknowledging that Haas was not yet on par with Racing Bulls and Alpine, Bearman highlighted the better balance and behaviour of the car as a solid foundation for future development. Esteban Ocon was less than two-tenths off Bearman in FP2, indicating a close internal battle within the team.
The Belgian Grand Prix continues with further sessions on Saturday.
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Source: formula1.com
