Alpine had a strong Sunday at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP with Franco Colapinto and teammate Pierre Gasly finishing P8 and P7 respectively. However, the Argentinian dropped to P10 after being handed a 10-second penalty for a yellow flag infringement. Despite the penalty, he still finished within the points.
A strong recovery drive for Alpine at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
After a tough qualifying session on Saturday, Colapinto placed himself P13 on the starting grid, outqualifying teammate Gasly for the third time in four rounds.
It had been a tough weekend in Barcelona for Alpine to that point, with both drivers struggling significantly with balance in their A526 early on. They were a long way down on grip. It showed in qualifying against Racing Bulls and Audi.
Nonetheless, Colapinto was able to deliver a strong recovery drive during the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, turning around a struggling weekend.
Prior to being handed the 10-second penalty, Colapinto described his performance during the race as “very positive”. On the road, they both managed to beat the Racing Bulls duo.
He also praised Alpine’s speed on higher tanks of fuel, but added that the car still required some fine-tuning.
“Yeah, it was very positive. I think it’s been a very good race, very solid. As a team, we showed that we were really strong and that we turned around a tricky result. So I think positive as a whole, it’s been a much stronger race day. I think with full tanks we showed that we were better. We keep working, of course, and keep trying to get better for the next few races.
“I think still the car is not feeling good, and we have a lot of things to improve and to understand. So we just keep on working and keep on getting the car in a better place.”
Building on the momentum heading into Austria
Despite the improvement in pace at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, Colapinto revealed that he still struggled with his A526 during the race.
However, he also noted that Alpine were able to survive the brutal conditions of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya better than the majority of the midfield during the race, as compared to the beginning of the weekend.
Colapinto also hopes that Alpine will be able to build on the positive momentum as they enter the upcoming 2026 F1 Austrian GP.
“Today was also looking fairly awful. I think we were a bit less awful than the others. Everyone probably struggled a lot. Yesterday, we struggled a bit more; today, my car struggled a bit less than the others. We were just a bit more competitive and closer to the cars in front. So I think, yeah, a better day. Of course, we need to keep building up and keep focusing now on the future in Austria.”
Colapinto agrees with the team’s orders to let Gasly pass during the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
On lap 20 of the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, Colapinto had been ordered by Alpine to allow teammate Gasly to pass, a decision made by the pit wall to maximise the team’s total points haul.
Initially, during the race, the Argentinian had questioned the decision over the radio but ultimately complied. Following the race, the 23-year-old admitted that he agreed with the team’s decision and that he trusted that the engineers had a much clearer tactical view of the situation.
“I think for the car in front, it’s always more frustrating because you don’t want to lose a position and lose three seconds letting a car pass. But they have a much bigger picture from the garage. Of course, I understand the decision.”
Colapinto then reflected that he is motivated to work towards helping Alpine maximise their potential in the 2026 F1 Constructors’ Championship. Especially with the team’s strong outing at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP and potential future upgrades Alpine will bring.
“We keep working now for the future. It’s a very positive day. Points with both cars, a lot of points again. So yeah, we keep working.”
“Yeah, I think it’s looking better. Again, we showed that in the race we were stronger and there is upgrades coming. So it’s all very positive.”
