BWT Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto finished 14th and 13th in a rain-affected São Paulo Grand Prix. Both drivers changed tyres three times as the track dried out and then got wet again. The team says the car was among the quickest on Soft tyres but lacked grip and pace whenever the rain returned.
BWT Alpine came away from the São Paulo Grand Prix with no points. Franco Colapinto finished 13th and Pierre Gasly 14th in a race where changing weather shaped the strategy from start to finish. Drivers and management agreed on the main takeaway: the Alpine A526 was competitive in the dry phase but struggled for grip in the wet, and the team wants to understand why before the next round.
A three-stop race in shifting conditions
Both cars started on new Intermediate tyres, Colapinto from 13th on the grid and Gasly from 15th. As the track dried, both drivers pitted on lap 17 for new Softs.
After that their strategies split. Gasly stopped for a second set of new Softs on lap 37. Colapinto ran his first set until lap 53. When the rain came back, both pitted again on lap 61 for new Intermediates.
Gasly gained one place over the race to finish 14th. Colapinto finished where he started, in 13th. Colapinto also set the quicker of the two fastest laps, a 1min 13.710secs against Gasly’s 1min 14.462secs.
Quick in the dry, short of grip in the wet
Gasly said the weekend’s wet running was the main concern. He noted that grip was “very poor on both the Intermediates and the Extreme Wets”. He also referred to the team’s data from Saturday’s qualifying: “we saw some odd things in the aerodynamic data with the car in the wet which I know we are going to take time to review and further understand.”
The dry phase was more encouraging. “I was pretty happy on the Softs in the race today and we were amongst some of the fastest cars on track during the dry part of the race,” Gasly said.
A difficult crossover call
Colapinto said the hardest decision was when to switch from Intermediates to slicks. “We started on Intermediate tyres and then it was about judging the crossover point to Soft tyres and that was not a straightforward call as the grip levels were quite low,” he explained.
He also said the team is looking into its wet-weather pace across both days: “Our pace on the Intermediates was not great and that impacted us today and I know the team is looking into why we struggled so much both on Saturday and Sunday in the wet conditions.”
Briatore calls the wet a weakness
Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore gave a blunt assessment of the weekend:
“A disappointing end to a weekend where we have, in general, underperformed. It is clear we have work to do to understand how to maximise the car in the wet as it was a weakness for us this weekend.”
Briatore also congratulated Toto Wolff and Mercedes on winning the Constructors’ Championship. He described their season as “impressive and dominant”.
What it means
According to Gasly, it was another race without points, and he admitted the “last few weeks have not gone to plan”. The team’s dry-weather pace suggests the car itself is competitive. Its wet-weather performance, however, is now a clear area to investigate, and the aerodynamic behaviour Gasly mentioned appears to be the starting point. With Mercedes having secured the constructors’ title, the rest of the field is racing for the remaining positions over the final rounds.
Gasly sounded hopeful about the next race. He pointed out that Alpine has “been quick in the past” in Las Vegas.
Facts: BWT Alpine at the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix
- Pierre Gasly: started P15, finished P14
- Gasly’s stops: lap 17 (new Softs), lap 37 (new Softs), lap 61 (new Intermediates)
- Gasly’s fastest lap: 1min 14.462secs
- Franco Colapinto: started P13, finished P13
- Colapinto’s stops: lap 17 (new Softs), lap 53 (new Softs), lap 61 (new Intermediates)
- Colapinto’s fastest lap: 1min 13.710secs
- Starting tyre (both cars): new Intermediates
- Car: Alpine A526
The next round of the championship is the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Source: media.alpinecars.com