Gasly Crashes in FP2 as Alpine Shows Signs of Life at Spa

Pierre Gasly's late crash in second practice at Spa-Francorchamps put Alpine on the back foot, yet the team still left Friday with a rare sense of optimism. After failing to reach Q3 in the last three races, the Enstone squad finally showed signs of life as Franco Colapinto went seventh-quickest in FP2, outpacing midfield rivals Racing Bulls by nearly two tenths.

Why it matters:

Alpine has endured a miserable run of form, with neither car breaking into the top ten in qualifying across the past three grand prix weekends. Friday's pace suggests the team may have found a breakthrough with its latest package, including an updated halo, but Gasly's shunt is a reminder that Spa rarely forgives even minor errors.

The details:

• Gasly lost the car at the exit of the Les Fagnes section in the dying minutes of FP2. A sudden snap of oversteer sent him onto the kerb, clipping the outside barrier and pitching him into a spin that ended with a second impact against the wall.
• Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen chalked it up to a "small mistake" that most circuits would absorb, but at Spa, "you get punished for it in certain places."
• Colapinto's P7 lap was 0.147s faster than Arvid Lindblad's Racing Bulls, a team Alpine has struggled to match recently.
• Both cars ran through a busy test program evaluating different setups. Gasly called the day "productive" despite the incident, while Colapinto credited cooler conditions and Spa's lower-speed corners for suiting the car's limitations.
• Nielsen urged caution overnight, stressing that the team must not overreach and undo the gains found on Friday.

What's next:

The priority for Alpine is translating its Friday promise into a Q3 appearance and ending its three-race drought. With the car responding better to setup changes and both drivers broadly positive, the focus shifts to a clean qualifying session. As Nielsen put it, the team simply needs to avoid doing anything overnight that might "take it away."