Pierre Gasly has admitted Alpine are losing ground in the Formula 1 midfield battle after describing Racing Bulls as "miles ahead" following a disappointing Belgian Grand Prix.
While Alpine managed to leave Spa-Francorchamps with a single point thanks to Franco Colapinto's 10th-place finish, Gasly crossed the line in 11th as Racing Bulls and Audi continued to pile pressure on the French team.
Gasly praises Racing Bulls' pace
Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad claimed two points in Belgium, while Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto added four, leaving Racing Bulls level with Alpine in the Constructors' Championship.
Gasly acknowledged that Racing Bulls have become the team to beat outside Formula 1's leading four outfits.
"Yeah, I mean over a single lap in qualifying, they were miles ahead," Gasly said.
"I think in the race, I'm not too sure what happened to them because they looked a bit different. Liam [Lawson], I think, was on a different specification.
"They clearly are the benchmark with Audi, and we need to keep working if we want to keep the battle alive."
Frustrating Belgian Grand Prix for Alpine
Gasly's race was compromised by a slow pit stop and a tense three-car battle with Lawson and teammate Colapinto into Les Combes.
"I was fighting with Liam. I had a poor start but managed to recover two positions," he explained.
"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."
The Frenchman also lost out during a three-wide fight into Turn 5, allowing Colapinto to move ahead.
"When we were three wide into Turn 5, I didn't come out on top. I lost a position there and had to battle a bit more with Lawson."
Gasly believes Alpine's overall pace remains the biggest concern ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.
"At the end of the day, we were P10 and P11, and we were just too slow, finishing far behind Bortoleto. That's clearly not where we want to be," he concluded
With Racing Bulls and Audi both gaining momentum, Alpine face an increasingly difficult task to remain among Formula 1's leading midfield teams.
