Alpine’s 2026 Half-Term Report: Gasly Shines as Team Loses Ground to Racing Bulls

 Alpine’s 2026 Half-Term Report: Gasly Shines as Team Loses Ground to Racing Bulls

August 14, 2026

Alpine’s 2026 Formula 1 campaign has delivered significant progress compared with last season, but the team enters the summer break facing growing concerns after surrendering fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship to Racing Bulls.

After finishing bottom of the standings in 2025, Alpine have already nearly tripled their points tally this year. However, their early-season momentum has faded in recent races, allowing Racing Bulls to make a strong charge for the position known as “best of the rest.”

Pierre Gasly has been the team’s leading performer, while Franco Colapinto has continued to develop alongside the experienced Frenchman.

Gasly’s Monaco podium the standout result

Gasly’s third-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix is undoubtedly Alpine’s best result of the season so far.

Starting ninth, Gasly benefited from Safety Cars, a red flag and George Russell’s penalty to climb through the field and cross the finish line in fourth.

However, the initial result did not give Gasly the podium he had hoped for. Two time penalties were added to his finishing time, dropping him to seventh.

Alpine subsequently requested a Right of Review, which was successful. The decision restored Gasly to third place, giving him his first podium since 2024.

The result was particularly significant because Monaco is effectively Gasly’s home race, making the podium one of the emotional highlights of Alpine’s season.

Gasly leads Colapinto in qualifying

Gasly has also dominated the qualifying battle with Colapinto.

The Frenchman currently leads their qualifying head-to-head 9-2, underlining his consistency over a single lap.

Both drivers have reached Q3 this season, but Alpine have increasingly found themselves fighting against Racing Bulls and Audi rather than occupying the upper end of the midfield.

Despite Colapinto’s progress, Gasly remains the clear benchmark within the team.

Colapinto closes the gap in races

The race head-to-head is considerably closer, with Gasly leading 7-4.

Colapinto has finished ahead of his teammate on four occasions, including an impressive sixth-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix — the best result of his Formula 1 career.

Gasly has nevertheless collected the majority of Alpine’s points. Of the team’s 61 points, he has contributed 42, while also putting together a seven-race scoring streak before the Austrian Grand Prix.

Gasly described Austria as “the toughest of the season,” reflecting the difficulties Alpine encountered as their rivals began to close the gap.

Canada provided another major highlight

Outside Monaco, Canada stands out as Alpine’s strongest weekend.

Colapinto finished sixth while Gasly followed in eighth, giving the team one of four double-points finishes of the season.

Alpine have generally shown stronger race pace than qualifying performance, allowing both drivers to recover positions during Grands Prix.

Gasly’s recovery from 14th to seventh at the Spanish Grand Prix was another example of the team’s ability to perform better on Sundays than Saturdays.

Recent races expose Alpine’s weaknesses

The biggest concern for Alpine has been their decline in recent rounds.

Neither driver scored in Austria or Hungary, while their performance at Spa-Francorchamps also highlighted problems with the current package.

Colapinto finished 10th in Belgium but remained critical of the car, describing it as “too slow.”

Alpine had hoped the Hungaroring’s slower corners would suit its characteristics, but the team could manage only 12th and 15th positions.

The team also endured a frightening moment in Miami when Gasly made contact with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson. The incident sent Gasly’s Alpine into the air and into the barriers, although the Frenchman escaped injury.

Racing Bulls now hold the advantage

The most pressing issue for Alpine is their battle with Racing Bulls.

Alpine appeared firmly established in fifth place earlier in the campaign, but Racing Bulls have produced a remarkable improvement after introducing effective upgrades.

Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad have both delivered strong results, helping Racing Bulls overturn Alpine’s advantage.

Racing Bulls finally moved ahead in Hungary, taking fifth place with a six-point advantage.

For Alpine, the challenge is now to stop that momentum before the gap becomes difficult to recover.

What comes next?

Alpine’s 2026 season remains a significant improvement over their disastrous 2025 campaign, but the team cannot afford to become complacent.

Gasly has demonstrated that he can consistently deliver points when the car allows him to do so, while Colapinto continues to gain valuable experience and has already produced a career-best result.

The summer break gives Alpine an opportunity to reassess their development programme and search for additional performance.

If the team can unlock more pace, maintain Gasly’s consistency and help Colapinto close the gap to his teammate, Alpine could still reclaim fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

But with Racing Bulls rapidly improving, the second half of the season could prove far more difficult than the first.

Analysis: Alpine’s 2026 Season Has Progressed, but Racing Bulls Have Exposed Their Limits

Alpine’s 2026 Formula 1 campaign is a fascinating example of how quickly fortunes can change in the midfield. At the start of the season, the French manufacturer looked like a team capable of establishing itself as the leading force behind the frontrunners. Halfway through the campaign, however, that optimism has been replaced by a much more complicated picture.

The headline remains positive: Alpine have improved dramatically from their disastrous 2025 season. After finishing last in the Constructors’ Championship, the team have already accumulated almost three times their points total from a year ago. Pierre Gasly has delivered a memorable podium at Monaco, Franco Colapinto has recorded the best result of his young Formula 1 career, and Alpine have regularly demonstrated competitive race pace.

Yet the most important development is not how much Alpine have improved. It is how quickly Racing Bulls have improved around them.

That has transformed the battle for fifth place from an Alpine success story into a warning that the Enstone-based team cannot afford to stand still.

Gasly remains Alpine’s central figure

The clearest positive from the first half of the season has been Pierre Gasly.

The Frenchman has provided Alpine with leadership, consistency and experience at a time when the team has needed all three. His 42 points account for the majority of Alpine’s 61-point total, demonstrating just how heavily the team has depended on him.

His Monaco podium is naturally the defining moment.

Finishing third at the most prestigious race on the calendar would have been an important achievement under any circumstances. For Gasly, the significance was even greater because of the event’s connection to his home country.

The strange circumstances surrounding the result made the achievement even more memorable. Gasly crossed the line in a position that initially appeared to leave him seventh after penalties were applied. Alpine’s successful Right of Review ultimately restored him to third.

There was an element of fortune involved, particularly because Safety Cars, a red flag and Russell’s penalty helped Gasly move forward. But luck alone does not produce a podium. Gasly still had to keep the car in contention and take advantage of opportunities when they appeared.

His performance also illustrates why Alpine’s development must remain focused on giving him a stronger car.

The qualifying weakness is a concern

The biggest statistical warning sign is Alpine’s qualifying performance.

Gasly leads Colapinto 9-2 in their qualifying head-to-head. That is a substantial advantage and demonstrates the difference in experience between the two drivers.

But the issue extends beyond the internal battle.

Alpine have increasingly struggled to qualify where they need to be. Their race pace has often been better than their single-lap performance, which allows them to recover positions on Sunday, but relying on recovery drives is not a sustainable long-term strategy.

Formula 1 rewards qualifying performance because track position is so valuable. This is particularly true in the midfield, where small differences in pace can determine whether a driver scores points or spends the race trapped behind rivals.

Alpine’s inability to consistently reach the front end of the midfield has therefore limited their scoring potential.

The fact that Racing Bulls and, occasionally, Audi have displaced Alpine from positions they previously occupied is particularly revealing.

Colapinto’s development matters

Franco Colapinto represents another important part of Alpine’s future.

The Argentine entered the season with plenty to prove after his future with Alpine had previously been uncertain. His Canadian Grand Prix performance, where he finished sixth, demonstrated that he can produce a significant result when circumstances and car performance align.

His race head-to-head with Gasly is also much closer than the qualifying numbers, with Gasly leading 7-4.

That suggests Colapinto is developing into a more effective race-day competitor even if he remains behind Gasly over one lap.

The challenge for Alpine is to help him convert that potential into greater consistency.

If Colapinto can move closer to Gasly’s level, Alpine would immediately gain a much stronger scoring combination. At present, too much of the team’s points burden is carried by Gasly.

For a midfield team fighting Racing Bulls, having both cars regularly scoring is essential.

Canada showed what Alpine can achieve

The Canadian Grand Prix may ultimately prove to be one of the most important weekends of Alpine’s season.

Colapinto finished sixth and Gasly eighth, producing a double-points result that demonstrated the team’s potential.

It also highlighted a defining characteristic of the Alpine package: stronger race pace than qualifying pace.

That characteristic can be useful. A car that comes alive during a race can exploit strategy, tyre management and changing conditions. But it becomes dangerous if rivals develop cars that are competitive in both qualifying and race trim.

Racing Bulls appear to be moving in precisely that direction.

Racing Bulls have changed the equation

The biggest reason Alpine’s season now feels less secure is the improvement of Racing Bulls.

Racing Bulls did not simply inherit fifth place. They earned it through development.

The team introduced effective upgrades and began producing stronger results, with Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad both contributing to the surge.

That is the crucial difference between Alpine’s situation now and earlier in the season.

When Alpine were leading the midfield, the team could concentrate on defending its position. Now Racing Bulls have demonstrated that they can develop faster, Alpine must respond.

The six-point deficit after Hungary is not large enough to be considered decisive. In Formula 1, a single strong weekend can change the championship order.

But the direction of travel matters.

Racing Bulls are moving forward while Alpine have recently been moving backward.

That is the real danger.

The recent decline cannot be ignored

Austria and Hungary were particularly disappointing for Alpine.

Neither driver scored in either race, and the Hungarian Grand Prix was especially damaging because the circuit was expected to suit Alpine better.

Instead, the team could manage only 12th and 15th.

Colapinto’s comments that the car was “too slow” after Belgium are also significant.

Drivers inevitably criticize cars from time to time, but when a driver scores a point and still leaves a weekend concerned about the package, it suggests the underlying performance problem is serious.

The team cannot depend indefinitely on extracting exceptional results from Gasly.

At some point, the car has to improve.

Alpine’s biggest challenge is development

The second half of the season will therefore be less about dramatic changes and more about development efficiency.

Alpine need upgrades that deliver genuine lap time.

They also need to understand why their rivals have been able to close the gap so effectively.

The danger is that the team becomes caught in a cycle where it responds to Racing Bulls rather than developing its own programme. If that happens, Alpine could spend the rest of the season defending sixth or seventh instead of fighting for fifth.

The summer break is therefore an important opportunity.

The engineers have time to examine the weaknesses exposed during the first half of the campaign, while the drivers can provide valuable feedback about where the car is losing performance.

Verdict: improvement, but unfinished business

Alpine deserve credit for their progress.

Going from last place in 2025 to a genuine midfield contender in 2026 is not a small achievement. Gasly’s Monaco podium and Colapinto’s Canadian sixth place provide evidence that the team has built a considerably better foundation.

But Formula 1 is not judged solely by improvement. It is judged by where you finish relative to your competitors.

That is why losing fifth place to Racing Bulls is such an important warning.

Alpine have shown they can build a competitive car. Now they must show they can develop one.

Gasly provides the consistency. Colapinto provides emerging potential. The team has enough points already to prove that the underlying package works.

What remains uncertain is whether Alpine can find the additional performance required to reverse the momentum.

The six-point gap to Racing Bulls is recoverable. The bigger challenge is the performance trend behind that gap.

If Alpine return from the summer break with effective upgrades, they could quickly reclaim fifth place and turn their season back into a success story.

If Racing Bulls continue their current trajectory while Alpine remain stagnant, the battle for “best of the rest” could disappear before Alpine have another opportunity to regain control.

For now, Alpine’s 2026 campaign should be described as encouraging but incomplete. The first half has shown what the team is capable of. The second half will determine whether that progress represents a genuine turnaround or simply a brief step forward after a difficult 2025.