Pierre Gasly believes that Alpine’s midfield rivals are “miles ahead” of the team after a sudden drop in performance in Formula 1 this season.

The Anglo-French marque had enjoyed a strong start to F1’s latest era, consolidating a foothold on fifth in the Constructors’ standings.

The A526’s prowess had even prompted Gasly to set quite lofty ambitions for the team heading into the summer break.

That said, the last couple of race weekends have seen the Enstone-based team suffer a stark drop in competitiveness compared to its rivals.

Racing Bulls, after Arvid Lindblad’s points finish at Spa, last weekend, has tied Alpine, for fifth in the standings, on 61 points, heading into the Hungarian GP, this weekend.

Reflecting on how its rivals have out-developed them, the Frenchman delivered a pretty telling verdict on the competitive landscape of F1’s midfield.

“Yeah, I mean over a single lap quali, they [Racing Bulls] were miles ahead,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“I think in the race, I’m not too sure what happened to them, because they looked a bit more – Liam [Lawson], I think, was on a different spec.

“They clearly, I think, are the benchmark with Audi, and we need to keep working if we want to keep the battle alive.”

Gasly could not find his way past the Racing Bulls at the F1 Belgian GP

Pierre Gasly rues “too slow” Alpine performance after F1 Belgian GP

Gasly took the chequered flag in 11th, after the 44-lap race. His team-mate Franco Colapinto, on the other hand, drove a brilliant race to finish just inside the points in 10th.

Gasly reflected on his performance at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, ruining moments that eventually impeded his advances against his own team-mate and the Racing Bulls of Lindblad and Liam Lawson.

“I was fighting with Liam. I had a poor start, but managed to recover two positions,” Gasly added.

“Then we had a slow stop, unfortunately. With a better stop, we would have ended up in front of Lawson and Lindblad, which I think could have changed our race, because I spent 25 laps behind them after that.

“Unfortunately, when we were three wide into turn five, I didn’t come out on top. I lost a position there and had to battle a bit more with Lawson.

“So yeah, it was just a bit of a frustrating race, and I think at the end of the day, we were P10 and P11, and we were just too slow, finishing far away from Bortoleto, and that’s clearly not where we want to be.”

It would be crucial for Alpine to retain P5 in the Constructors’ heading out of the race weekend at the Hungaroring as F1 prepares for the month-long summer break in August.

Pierre Gasly issues ‘miles ahead’ assessment of Alpine’s midfield rivals at Spa

Pierre Gasly rues “too slow” Alpine performance after F1 Belgian GP