Alpine aim to reap qualifying rewards after "missed opportunity" in Turkey

Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski is hoping the team can convert its qualifying pace into race results after a "missed opportunity" last time out in Turkey.

Fernando Alonso had qualified fifth in Istanbul but contact at turn one with Pierre Gasly undid all of his hard work in an instant.

The team heads to Austin this weekend with a 12 point advantage over AlphaTauri in the race for fifth in the constructors' title, with Budkowski aiming for bigger points come race day.

"While we scored one point with Esteban [Ocon], we feel Turkey was a missed opportunity, especially with Fernando," said Budkowski.

"Starting from fifth on the grid and having been competitive throughout the weekend – the closest we’ve been to the top teams all season – we went into the race confident and hoping for a strong result, but the first lap incident completely ruined that.

"We need to keep qualifying strongly and hopefully next time we can convert our Saturday performances into bigger points on Sunday."

Race for fifth to go "to the wire" - Alpine

Gasly has often qualified in the top eight this season, mixing it with the McLaren and Ferrari drivers.

With Budkowski aware of the Frenchman's ability to score a big chunk of points, he is expecting the battle for fifth to go to the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

"It’s a tight fight for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship since the start of the season, and we have seen pretty big points swings at a few races," he explained.

"We had a decent points advantage going into Turkey, but we knew it was far from comfortable.

"It has now shrunk and we will need to keep scoring consistently at every race and taking every opportunity for bigger points when it presents itself while keeping a close eye on our competitors.

"It will no doubt go to the wire, but we have good momentum and are relishing the challenge."

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