Pierre Gasly started and finished 10th at the 2026 United States Grand Prix, earning the BWT Alpine Formula One Team a single point despite floor damage. His teammate Franco Colapinto retired after contact in the opening phase. It is his second retirement in two races, and both Alpine cars came away damaged.
A point salvaged from 10th on the grid
Pierre Gasly started 10th on new soft tyres and finished in the same position. He made his only pit stop on lap 24, switching to new hards, and his fastest lap was 1min 40.193secs.
The Frenchman said the result was about the most the team could have achieved. Contact with Haas driver Oliver Bearman cost him performance. Gasly described it as “quite a small contact” but said “it brought quite significant damage to my car.”
After the race he inspected the car and said he “was surprised to see the damage on the right-hand side floor with quite a lot of carbon fibre missing.” Gasly also reported a slow pit stop caused by a hardware issue, which the team is investigating. Without these setbacks, he believes he might have challenged Liam Lawson for ninth place.
Colapinto out after Turn 1 squeeze
Franco Colapinto took an alternative strategy from 20th on the grid, starting on new hard tyres. He stopped on lap 30 for new softs, and his fastest lap was 1min 41.087secs, but he did not reach the finish.
The Argentine explained that he was caught between cars on the climb into Turn 1. Gasly was exiting the pits on his inside and Arvid Lindblad was coming around the outside. “I was left with nowhere to go and unfortunately, we made contact,” he said, adding that “the whole floor and sidepod was broken.”
Colapinto said the car’s balance felt good in clean air. Starting from the back, however, he struggled in traffic and turbulent air. It is the second race in a row in which he has failed to finish.
Team boss points to a run of bad luck
Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore admitted the weekend fell short of expectations and said luck has not been with the team lately. He praised Gasly for scoring with a damaged car and noted that the Frenchman finished just one place behind the highest-placed Racing Bulls car.
“We head to Mexico City with the aim to improve our performance and score with both cars, which remains the objective at every race until the end of the season.” — Flavio Briatore
What it means
The single point keeps Alpine on the board, but a second straight non-finish for Colapinto and damage to both cars made it a difficult weekend for the Enstone-based team. Its 2026 challenger is the A526. With a 24-race calendar this season, there are still points available before the season ends.
Facts: BWT Alpine at the 2026 United States Grand Prix
- Pierre Gasly: started P10 (new softs), finished P10, one point
- Gasly pit stop: lap 24, new hards
- Gasly fastest lap: 1min 40.193secs
- Franco Colapinto: started P20 (new hards), DNF
- Colapinto pit stop: lap 30, new softs
- Colapinto fastest lap: 1min 41.087secs
- Next round: Mexico City
Alpine’s next race is in Mexico City.
Source: media.alpinecars.com