BWT Alpine ran two different programmes in Friday practice at the 2026 United States Grand Prix. Franco Colapinto concentrated on race preparation because he has a grid penalty, while Pierre Gasly worked on set-up and finished the day 12th in the second session. The team says its long-run pace looked stronger than its pace over a single lap.
Different plans for each car
Friday in Austin was not a normal practice day for BWT Alpine. Franco Colapinto has to take a grid penalty because his car was fitted with a new control electronics unit. The team therefore split its work between the two cars. Colapinto spent most of his running on long, high-fuel stints to understand how the car behaves in race trim. Pierre Gasly followed a more usual programme and tried a range of set-ups.
Neither driver set a lap fast enough to reach the top ten. In Free Practice 1, Gasly was 15th with a 1min 37.801secs and Colapinto 17th with a 1min 38.121secs. Both improved in Free Practice 2. Gasly moved up to 12th with a 1min 36.840secs and Colapinto was 15th with a 1min 37.201secs.
The team covered 579 km (360 miles) across the two sessions. Colapinto did 55 laps and 303 km (188 miles), and Gasly did 50 laps and 276 km. Both drivers used the C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds.
Finding a balance over the bumps
The circuit’s well-known bumps took up much of Gasly’s day. “The track is very bumpy, usual for here as it’s the nature of the track, and it has been quite difficult to get a good read on car balance,” he said. “A lot of our set-up work has been trying to get the car riding better over the bumps.”
Gasly said his high-fuel pace in the second session was better. He expects Saturday’s final practice session to focus on improving his pace over a single lap before qualifying. He also gave his first live interview from the cockpit, speaking to Sky Sports F1 during Free Practice 1.
A familiar approach for Colapinto
Colapinto said the team used a similar plan in Malaysia, where he also started with a grid penalty. That meant almost no qualifying simulations and a focus on the race. He also said tyre wear could matter on Sunday.
“Also, like Sepang, but to a lesser extent, this track can be tough on tyres and degradation will play a part in the race.”
What it means for the weekend
Managing Director Steve Nielsen called it “a tricky Friday”. He said the pattern the team saw was the opposite of recent races. Alpine looked stronger on high fuel than on low fuel, while it has usually been quicker on low fuel lately. Nielsen said Gasly is not yet as comfortable on low fuel as the team would like. That makes it the main area to work on before qualifying, where the team wants to keep its run of Q3 appearances going.
For Colapinto, Nielsen pointed out that overtaking is more common at this circuit than at many others. He said “all is not lost” if the driver makes a strong start on Sunday and gets back into the fight for points.
Final practice and qualifying take place on Saturday, and the United States Grand Prix is on Sunday.
Source: media.alpinecars.com