Gasly: Bottas to replace Colapinto at Alpine is just a lot of noise

Amid rumours that Alpine have approached Mercedes reserve Bottas about a possible seat, Gasly made clear during the British Grand Prix weekend that the speculation is not helpful given the team’s current struggles.

“I don't think that's the case,” said Gasly when asked whether Bottas could be a useful addition. “It's a lot of noise. With the car, I'm showing every weekend what we can do with it, doing a very good job on Saturdays and putting it in places that on paper we all agree we should not really be.”

The Frenchman, who shares a garage with rookie Franco Colapinto since Imola, said the midfield is too close for comfort and the team must concentrate on extracting the most from their current package: “It's just tricky, it's a very tight midfield and we are at the back of it.

"There will always be noise, especially considering what happened earlier in the year, but at the end of the day we should just focus on the work ahead," added Gasly.

Alpine currently sit last in the 2025 F1 constructors’ standings with just 19 points, ten behind Haas. According to Gasly, the team’s lack of updates and general performance limitations are the true obstacles: “It's going to be a long season. We don't have upgrades, the car is not in the best place, but all of us need to focus on what we've got to do and try and do it the best way that we can.”

Gasly also addressed the difficulty of competing in today’s field, noting that minor gaps now have major consequences: “It's easy to make it sound more dramatic than it is. I t's just a very tough field.

"You look a couple of years back, being eight [or] nine-tenths off the fastest car would put you sixth, seventh on the grid. This year being eight [or] nine-tenths slower than the fastest car puts you on the back row.

"I think everyone has done a very good job, we know the strengths and weaknesses of our package. We don't have the strongest car, we don't have the strongest engine – both combined doesn't put us in a very good spot," the Alpine driver reckoned.

Despite the challenges, Gasly remains optimistic: “But I see a lot of good stuff happening in the team in terms of trying to get the maximum we can. We know the focus is on 2026 and it comes with some compromises on this year, which are tough to take, but hopefully we see the dividends next year.” (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)