F1 star 'ruled out' BEFORE race at Belgian Grand Prix

George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Mercedes, Alpine, Japan, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Belgian Grand Prix

F1 star 'ruled out' BEFORE race at Belgian Grand Prix

A F1 star will not start the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 26 July 2025 12:00 Updated: 12:21

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F1 and Alpine star Pierre Gasly was effectively ruled out of Saturday's sprint at the Belgian Grand Prix, just minutes before the race was expected to start.

The Frenchman's car was spotted being pushed off the grid by Alpine mechanics, after qualifying in eighth for the sprint race.

Sky Sports confirmed that Gasly's car suffered a water leak issue, and was officially ruled out of the race with the team unable to fix the problem in time for lights out.

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However, the team continued to work on the car and the French driver did eventually join the race albeit hopelessly two laps down - effectively turning his afternoon into a defacto test session.

Gasly's team-mate Franco Colapinto started the sprint race from the pit-lane, after he incurred a late penalty for an illegal rear-wing change.

Nightmare Belgian GP weekend for Alpine

Alpine are in desperate need for a strong weekend at Spa, with the Enstone-based squad currently languishing last in the standings.

The team have endured an unstable 2025 season both within their driver lineup and in their management.

Colapinto replaced an underperforming Jack Doohan at Imola, but thus far the Argentine has been unable to score a point since returning to F1.

Meanwhile, team principal Oliver Oakes resigned with immediate effect in May and Flavio Briatore has had to step up to fulfil the role of team leader since.

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