Pierre Gasly delivered an impressive drive at the 2026 F1 Australian GP, hauling his Alpine from 14th on the grid to tenth at the flag. The team bagged their first championship point under the new regulations.
Gasly’s weekend had already been complicated before the lights went out. Alpine admitted that qualifying did not go to plan, with both cars struggling to extract performance from their low-fuel runs. Issues around tyre preparation, energy deployment and overall execution left Gasly starting down in P14.
Off the line, Pierre Gasly gained five positions on the opening lap alone to slot inside the top ten. Alpine pitted him under the Virtual Safety Car on lap 11, bolting on hard tyres.
The strategy placed the 2020 Italian GP winner in traffic for much of the afternoon, forcing him to constantly defend and attack while conserving energy and tyre life under the new regulations.
Speaking after the race in the print media pen, he described the workload behind the wheel.
“I think it was a pretty intense afternoon, a pretty intense race. From the start, a lot of battle, I think we were always within a second of the car ahead or a second of the car behind. There was quite a lot to manage, it’s a very different way of racing compared to what it’s been before and there is so much more to process.”
Gasly plays down Ocon contact after tough 2026 F1 Australian GP battle
The centrepiece of his afternoon came on lap 21, when he dived down the inside of Esteban Ocon into Turn 3. The move worked, but there was contact. Gasly sustained minor front wing and floor damage, which ultimately cost him whatever additional pace he might have had in the closing laps.
Pierre Gasly explained: “I think it’s probably the most extreme case which we can face because I was battling for 58 laps. So I think a lot of things learned, in the end there was more pace today. Unfortunately, after the contact with Esteban [Ocon], I damaged the front wing and the floor.”
When asked whether he had spoken to Ocon about the incident, the 30-year-old was blunt in saying, “I’ve spoken about it for 20 years, I’m not going to do it another time. It is what it is, Formula 1.”
The two have history, and clearly, neither felt the need to revisit it.
Alpine are pleased with the learnings from the Australian GP
Following the damage, the Frenchman focused on protecting track position while managing ageing tyres and a damaged car. Alpine later noted that he did not make mistakes during the closing phase, successfully keeping the chasing midfield behind him.
The race also provided Alpine with critical data on their new package. Much of the team’s preparation during the weekend centred on understanding energy deployment with their new Mercedes-AMG power unit partnership and how those demands interact with Albert Park’s layout.
Gasly acknowledged the scale of the adjustment drivers face under the new rules.
“Yeah, we fall from being at the maximum potential of the car we are. In all aspects, energy, tyres, chassis, set-up.
“It’s just such a big change, it’s almost like you’ve got to reset all your references. It’s a very different track to Bahrain. Again, I think it’s very good data.
“I’m pleased we managed to do no reliability issues. We managed to get all the laps under our belts. There will be a lot of work going into the next three days to make sure we hit the ground running in a better place in China.”
Gasly’s teammate, Colapinto had a tough race, claiming that they need to improve their low fuel runs.
Gasly felt that the new 2026 F1 regulations take away the essence of pure racing
The Frenchman also pointed to the complexity of driving the new generation of cars, where energy deployment and regeneration now play a larger role in how drivers approach each corner.
“I’m not going to get dragged into this, whether it’s fun or not. I think we do need to give it some time. I’ve seen different tracks. Melbourne was probably one of the worst. It was always going to be tricky, but it wasn’t natural.
“There’s just way more driving going on. The battery, the energy, the difference between PUs. It’s deploying more into Turn 1, less in Turn 3, more in Turn 6. The lift-off you’ve got to do, through-regen, etc. You’re taking quite a bit away from the pure driving.”
Several other drivers, like Haas’ Ollie Bearman echoed the same opinion, claiming that the racing now feels more like Formula E than F1.
Despite the challenges, Gasly emphasised that the race itself became the most valuable learning opportunity for the team at the 2026 F1 Australian GP.
“I think there’s no one who knows what, we’re all really learning along the way. Getting some racing experience was actually the best learning we could have before going into China.”
Alpine head to China, a track that rewards power efficiency, energy strategy, and aerodynamic adaptability, making it a strong early test of how well teams have mastered the 2026 regulations.
Pierre Gasly will be hoping to carry the momentum from the 2026 Australian GP and will be hoping for a better race than last year, where he got disqualified from after finishing 17th in the race.
