Franco Colapinto delivered his strongest weekend of the 2026 season at the Spanish Grand Prix, converting a ninth-place grid slot into seventh at the flag and six points for BWT Alpine. Pierre Gasly gambled on a long opening stint from 14th but the late safety car he needed never came, leaving him 12th. Team advisor Flavio Briatore says the result puts Alpine ahead of Racing Bulls and closes the gap in the Constructors’ Championship.

Formula One’s first visit to Madrid ended with a solid haul for BWT Alpine, built on a clean, disciplined drive from Franco Colapinto and a strategic gamble from Pierre Gasly that ultimately did not pay off.

Colapinto converts a strong start

Colapinto lined up ninth on new medium tyres and got away well once again, holding position through the opening stint before a Virtual Safety Car handed him a cheap pit stop on lap 14 for a set of new hards. That second stint then had to last until the chequered flag — a long run that required constant defending — but the Argentine held on to take seventh and six points. His fastest lap of the race was a 1min 37.321secs.

“I’m very happy with the end result today with P7 and scoring six points for the team, especially as this track layout probably does not best suit the strengths of our package too well,” Colapinto said. “It’s probably my best race weekend in terms of execution this year, I maximised everything in Qualifying and did what I had to do today.”

He added that he had closed on Gabriel Bortoleto late in the race but lost time in the process, and doubted it would have changed his finishing position.

Gasly’s long gamble

Gasly’s afternoon was shaped by Saturday. Starting 14th on new hard tyres after a qualifying session the team admits it did not maximise, he was kept out on an extremely long first stint, only pitting for new softs on lap 55. The plan relied on a late Virtual Safety Car or full Safety Car that never arrived, and he came home 12th with a best lap of 1min 38.141secs.

“We were fast throughout the race, I left nothing out there, but we just needed a VSC or a SC to benefit at the end,” Gasly said. “Like for others, that didn’t happen, so I’m left a bit frustrated but still pleased the team managed to score important points.”

Briatore framed the split strategy as the only realistic route to points from Gasly’s grid slot, noting that rival teams took the same gamble.

What it means for the midfield fight

Alpine went into the weekend with a specific target: finish ahead of Racing Bulls and reduce the deficit to them in the Constructors’ Championship. According to the team, both aims were achieved. In a season where the midfield order can swing from circuit to circuit, six points from a layout that Colapinto says does not suit the A526 is a useful return rather than a headline one.

Briatore also praised the organisers of the new Madrid event, saying he expects it to grow. The team says its focus now returns to developing the A526 and extracting more from it at each remaining round of the 24-race season.

Facts: Alpine at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix

  • Franco Colapinto: started P9 on new mediums, finished P7
  • Pit stop lap 14 for new hards; fastest lap 1min 37.321secs
  • Pierre Gasly: started P14 on new hards, finished P12
  • Pit stop lap 55 for new softs; fastest lap 1min 38.141secs
  • Points scored: six, via Colapinto’s seventh place
  • Car: Alpine A526, built at the team’s Enstone factory in Oxfordshire, UK

The championship continues at the next round of the 2026 season.

Source: media.alpinecars.com