Pierre Gasly reflects on Alpine’s Mid-Season performance during the 2026 F1 season. After a difficult 2025 campaign, where Alpine finished last in the World Constructors’ Championship, the team appeared to regain their footing in 2026.
Both Gasly and teammate Franco Colapinto have scored good totals throughout the first half of the season, with the pair scoring double points for Alpine at the British GP. Notably, Gasly scored a podium during the Monaco GP, where he saw his 10s time penalty for speeding in the pit lane overturned.
The Frenchman currently sits P10 in the World Drivers’ Championship, having scored 42 points. Alpine F1 Team are P6 in the World Constructors’ Championship, narrowly behind Racing Bulls as the top-scoring midfield team.
Gasly on Alpine’s 2026 performance at the Mid-Season mark
Alpine had a strong start to the season, with Gasly scoring seven consecutive points finishes from Australia to Barcelona, including his podium in Monaco.
Gasly reflected on Alpine’s strong 2026 Mid-Season performance, while also highlighting their gap to current midfield top-runner Racing Bulls. Upgrades in Montréal and at Spa have worked superbly for the Faenza-based team, with Audi also jumping ahead of the Enstone squad recently on pure pace.
“I would say, overall, apart from the first race, it was a very strong start. In terms of pace and results, points-scoring, execution, we can be fairly happy with most of the races so far this year.
“I think it’s only until maybe the last three, four races that, in terms of development, we’ve been slightly out-developed by some of the other teams in the midfield.
“You can definitely see it in terms of trend and results, qualifying position. Slightly less points in the last few weekends. I think we know why, we know what we’ve got to improve. I think we have our development plan, we know what’s coming. It’s definitely needed if we want to keep that fifth place in the [constructors’] championship until the end of the year. Because there is nothing in it anymore, and at the moment we don’t have the upper hand on Racing Bulls.
“But overall I would say it was an encouraging start. We’re not in a bad place now, but we definitely need more performance, which is supposed to come in the coming weeks.“
Where is Alpine falling behind?
Gasly reflected on Alpine’s dip in performance approaching Mid-Season in F1 2026. Since the Austrian GP, the 2020 Italian GP winner has only managed to snag one point.
The Frenchman stated Alpine are falling behind competitors in terms of the development race, explaining the limiting factors of the A526 at present. The team is due to bring upgrades to Zandvoort as they look to reclaim P5.
“I think it’s just development. Looking at all the new parts, mainly looking at Racing Bulls really, they’ve really brought a lot of upgrades in the coming races and it seems to work well. And from what we hear, even slightly better than they would have anticipated. At the moment, it’s credit to them for the work they’re doing, and it’s up to us to deliver with the new parts that will come in the next races.
“I think in terms of limitation, it’s a little bit everywhere. We’re lacking a bit of traction, we’re lacking some loads, which is mainly what we will try to bring on. It’s a new regulation, so obviously there is still a lot of areas to explore in terms of performance.
“We see a lot of different concepts between cars. And at the minute, we haven’t really changed so much the car from the start of the year. There’s definitely going to be new stuff coming, which will help.“
Gasly on fighting in the midfield
Joining Alpine in 2023, Pierre Gasly has continued to showcase his form in a midfield car. However, it is clear the Frenchman yearns to fight at the front of the field. Gasly has scored three podiums since joining Alpine, including his most recent P3 finish in Monaco.
When asked about if it is frustrating to be struggling with the car in the midfield, Gasly replied, “If you think about it, yes. Can I do something about it? No, so I just don’t think about it.
“I think it’s as simple as that.”
The Frenchman continued, highlighting his belief that he is capable of fighting with the frontrunners.
“It’s a bit frustrating to fight for a tenth place when I believe I could fight at the front. It’s the story of Formula 1, and there are things you can control and things you can’t control. At the end of the day, I’ve got to do the best job I can with what I get given. That’s why I try to put all my energy into it.“
