There is no doubt that Alpine has turned its fortunes around in 2026, but its impressive resurgence has slowly begun to unravel as the F1 season reached its Mid-Season mark.
The Enstone-based team finished a difficult 2025 campaign at the bottom of the Teams’ Standings with just 22 points, all of which were scored by Pierre Gasly. Now, eleven races into 2026, Alpine sits P6 in the standings with 61 points, which were secured by both Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Alpine 2026 F1 Mid-Season Review: 7/10
Heading into a season with new regulations, Alpine opted for a change of its own, switching from Renault engines to Mercedes power units. The move proved to be a significant step forward for Alpine, with the French outfit immediately emerging as one of the more competitive and reliable midfield teams on the grid.
The early stages of the season showed just how much progress the A526 had made as Alpine were consistently able to put themselves into the points fight. Colapinto earned his first point of the season in Shanghai, while Gasly kicked off his season with a seven-round point-scoring streak. As the season continued, Alpine managed to score points in all but two of the eleven races.
A breakthrough moment arrived in Monaco when Gasly delivered Alpine’s first podium finish since the 2024 F1 São Paulo GP. While the result was initially taken away from the Frenchman after he received a 10-second time penalty for two pit-lane infringements, Alpine’s Right of Review was accepted by the FIA, allowing Gasly to reclaim P3 and the team to celebrate its long-awaited podium.
However, Alpine’s momentum gradually faded from Austria onwards as their midfield rivals’ development intensified. Racing Bulls, in particular, improved massively after their Montreal upgrade, while Audi also began to challenge Alpine for position.
The 2026 F1 Hungarian GP offered the clearest indication of Alpine’s current Mid-Season struggles. Gasly and Colapinto finished P12 and P15, respectively, as the car lacked the race pace needed to challenge Racing Bulls and Audi. Consequently, their results allowed Racing Bulls to overtake Alpine in the Teams’ Standings.
Nevertheless, Alpine will bring a major aerodynamic package to Zandvoort, offering hope in Pit Debrief’s Mid-Season review as the team will be determined to regain momentum and P5 in the standings.
Pierre Gasly Mid-Season Review: 8/10
While much of the attention this season has been on drivers from Mercedes and Ferrari, Pierre Gasly has quietly established himself as one of the strongest midfield drivers on the 2026 F1 grid.
Sitting P10 in the Drivers’ Standings with 42 points, Gasly has scored points in eight of the 11 Grand Prix so far, while holding an 11-4 lead over teammate Colapinto in qualifying across the GP and Sprint formats. Gasly’s advantage over his teammate has also extended to their race results, although the gap is smaller than in qualifying. Including Sprint races, Gasly leads Colapinto 9-6, further highlighting his consistency across the opening half of the campaign.
Beyond the statistics, Gasly’s biggest strength through the first half of the season has been his ability to maximize the performance available from the A526. From recovering from P14 to score points in Australia to holding off Max Verstappen for the final 25 laps in Japan, the Frenchman has repeatedly demonstrated strong racecraft and an ability to make the most of difficult situations.
This was best demonstrated in Monaco, where Gasly delivered his sixth career podium finish despite starting P9 and initially being dropped to P7 due to a pit-lane speeding penalty.
Halted progress
However, as Alpine’s development has stalled in recent rounds, Gasly has increasingly found himself limited by the car’s lack of pace. After scoring points in seven consecutive Grand Prix, Gasly’s streak came to an end in Austria, where a poor start and difficulty with extracting pace contributed to a P13 finish. Gasly described it as the “toughest Sunday of the season by far,” noting how challenging it has become for him to fight for even the smaller points.
His situation worsened at Spa-Francorchamps where he finished P11, before enduring an even more frustrating Hungarian GP. Starting from P12, Gasly hoped that an alternative tyre strategy could bring him into contention for points. However, instead, he spent the race trailing his midfield rivals, eventually finishing P12. The Frenchman admitted that Alpine’s lack of pace and aerodynamic inconsistencies made it difficult to trust through the twisty corners of the Hungaroring.
For a driver who had secured Alpine’s first podium of the season just weeks earlier in Monaco, the inability to fight for points in Budapest highlighted how Gasly’s opportunities have diminished. Despite not making many mistakes himself, his recent results leave him with an 8/10 in Pit Debrief’s Mid-Season review, with more potential to unlock if Alpine can find greater pace.
Franco Colapinto Mid-Season Review: 6/10
After failing to score points across the 2025 F1 season, Franco Colapinto has already made a clear step forward in 2026. Sitting P12 in the standings with 19 points, the Argentine has scored in six of the 11 rounds so far, while showing increased flashes of pace that Alpine will hope to see more consistently across the second half of the season.
While Colapinto has generally struggled to match Gasly across a full weekend, several performances have provided plenty of encouragement. His best weekend came during the 2026 F1 Montreal GP, where Colapinto managed to outqualify Gasly for the second time to start P10 on the grid. Despite having no earlier Free Practice running due to a throttle issue, Colapinto went on to secure his career-best result of P6.
His recovery drive at Silverstone marked another encouraging display. After suffering a significant off-track moment in Q1 of qualifying, Colapinto lined up in P19. Determined to get into the top ten, Colapinto endured a close wheel-to-wheel battle against his teammate before a slow pit stop for Gasly ultimately helped Colapinto finish ahead in P9.
Finding consistency
Despite his flashes of potential, Colapinto’s biggest issue remains his inability to consistently convert his potential into results.
Colapinto’s early-season results highlighted this inconsistency as he finished P14 in Australia, P10 in China, P16 in Japan, and P7 in Miami. However, it is important to note that several circumstances beyond his control affected the results, including a starting-procedure penalty in Melbourne and the extreme closing-speeds incident with Ollie Bearman in Suzuka.
Colapinto’s underlying pace is increasingly convincing, but to increase his 6/10 in Pit Debrief’s Mid-Season review, the Alpine driver needs to focus on execution. If he can combine the speed shown in Montreal and Silverstone with greater consistency, there is clear potential for him to become a much more regular point scorer in the second half of 2026.
