One year after finishing dead last in the Constructors’ Championship, Alpine has emerged as one of Formula 1’s most compelling stories of 2026. Three races in, the French outfit sits fifth in the standings — and Pierre Gasly’s drive at Suzuka may have been the defining moment of their resurgence.
▶ Watch the full Suzuka breakdown on The Motion Report →
Gasly holds off Verstappen for 26 laps
Starting and finishing seventh, Gasly spent the second half of the Japanese Grand Prix with a four-time world champion less than a second behind him. He did not crack. When Verstappen attempted a different energy deployment strategy on lap 48, Gasly came back through — finishing 0.337 seconds clear at the flag.
“This guy would not leave my heels all the way through. I had to check on him five times a lap.” — Pierre Gasly
The Briatore gamble that paid off
The transformation traces back to decisions made in 2025 that many in the paddock called reckless: sacrifice an entire season, redirect all development resources toward 2026’s new regulations, and replace their Renault power unit programme with a Mercedes customer deal. Alpine finished 2025 with 48 points fewer than the ninth-placed team.
Three races into 2026, that strategy looks vindicated. The Mercedes power unit is delivering consistent race pace, and Alpine’s position at the bottom of the 2025 standings awarded them maximum wind tunnel and CFD development time — a token they had deliberately banked.
Colapinto’s challenge: finding himself again
The other half of Alpine’s story is more complex. Franco Colapinto, who burst onto the scene with Williams in 2024 by immediately outperforming a far more experienced teammate, qualified over half a second behind Gasly at Suzuka and finished 33 seconds adrift in 16th. Observers in the Suzuka paddock noted a marked difference in his demeanour compared to his debut — quieter, more cautious, visibly withdrawn. The psychological weight of a full-season contract, a high-profile teammate, and heightened expectations appears to be a different challenge entirely from the freedom he carried as a stand-in driver.
The Miami Grand Prix, after a month’s reset, will be an important indicator of whether Colapinto can rediscover the instinctive aggression that made him so exciting in the first place.
Buenos Aires and the bigger picture
On 26 April, Colapinto will drive a Formula 1 car through the Palermo district of Buenos Aires — the first Argentine to do so on the streets of his own capital. The event carries government backing and significant commercial interest, and arrives at a time when Formula 1 is actively seeking growth markets as the Middle East calendar faces scrutiny. Argentina has not hosted a Grand Prix since 1998. A resurgent Colapinto performing at Gasly’s level could be precisely the catalyst that conversation needs.
▶ Watch the full Suzuka breakdown — including Gasly’s defence, the Briatore strategy deep-dive, and Colapinto’s path back.
Tags: Alpine F1 2026 · Pierre Gasly Suzuka · Franco Colapinto · Flavio Briatore · Formula 1 2026 season · F1 Constructors Championship · Argentina F1 · Buenos Aires Formula 1
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