Briatore says Alpine got its race calls wrong at Bahrain GP in Malaysia

After the rain-delayed Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at Sepang, Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore said the team had not made the right calls or done enough as a team. Both cars started on soft tyres and fell back, never fully recovering; Franco Colapinto finished 13th and Pierre Gasly 16th. Alpine and some other teams had tried a different tyre approach, Briatore said, but the team's effort to recover did not pay off.

Gasly said he supported the decision to start on soft tyres after the start procedure was suspended, but later described it as a gamble that failed because the track was too wet and took too long to dry. Colapinto said his grid position and the rain gave him room to take a tyre risk; in hindsight, he judged the choice wrong.

Briatore also said Alpine's speed in dry conditions looked promising and that the team still had many races in which to chase fifth place in the championship.