Alpine has recently slipped back into the middle of the Formula 1 pack, but aims to strike back against the Racing Bulls and Audi with a major update after the summer break
Alpine entered the 2026 Formula 1 summer break in sixth place in the World Championship standings. Considering that the French team had finished the 2025 season in tenth and last place in the Constructors’ Championship, this is actually an acceptable result.
However, it’s also a fact that Alpine was still regularly found at the top of the midfield at the start of the season. Lately, however, they have fallen behind the Racing Bulls and Audi in the pecking order. Both teams have made a leap forward with their respective updates.
“At the beginning—aside from the first race—it was a very strong start in terms of pace, results, points scored, and execution. I think we can be pretty satisfied with most of the races,” says Pierre Gasly.
However, the Frenchman also knows that the tide has turned somewhat in the last few races before the summer break. While Alpine scored at least one point in each of the first seven races of the season—and even secured a podium finish in Monaco—the team failed to score points in two of the following four Grands Prix.
Gasly admits: “We simply haven’t made enough progress [compared to the competition].” Therefore, he says, it is now “crucial” to bring updates of our own in the coming weeks “if we want to keep our hopes alive for fifth place in the championship.”
Rivals have “improved by several seconds”
“It’s important because Aston Martin improved by two seconds this weekend [in Hungary], they’re getting a new engine [in Zandvoort], Racing Bulls improved by several seconds at the start of the year, and Audi did as well,” said Gasly.
“We’re not in a bad position right now, but we definitely need more performance—and that should come in the coming weeks,” he announced, explaining: “It doesn’t feel right in the car either. The car isn’t responding at all the way I want it to.”
“It doesn’t let me drive the way I need to, and there are a whole bunch of things that need to be fixed,” said Gasly, who emphasized: “I think we know why that is, and we know what we need to improve. We have our development plan.”
Ultimately, while the Alpine A526 doesn’t have any major weaknesses, it’s “a little bit lacking in every area,” he reports. In this context, Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen announced on Sky a “significant upgrade” for the first race after the summer break at Zandvoort.
He reveals that there will be “some pretty big new aerodynamic parts” for the car there. This should help Alpine catch up to the Racing Bulls and Audi again. In the World Championship, the Racing Bulls (66 points) are currently five points ahead of Alpine (61) in the battle for fifth place.
