From all the teams that wrote off 2025 or shifted focus to 2026 much earlier, Alpine is actually the squad that saw the biggest benefits from that approach. Powered by Mercedes engines, the squad enjoyed a strong start to the season. But Alpine's first half of the year has been slightly downgraded to a B- as it got caught by its rivals ahead of the summer break, ending the first half of the season in sixth place, five points behind Racing Bulls.
The good
Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto were rewarded for enduring a painful 2025 campaign as Alpine began life as a Mercedes customer with a much more competitive package. After a tough opener in Melbourne, in which the team didn't execute a clean weekend and struggled to get on top of power unit deployment, the Enstone team went on to dominate the midfield.
Alpine's A526 made regular Q3 appearances, especially in the hands of Gasly, as the squad scored points in each of the first seven grand prix weekends. That run culminated with a controversial Monaco podium for Gasly, which was initially denied due to time penalties but later overturned, subject to an appeal.
Gasly has continued his impressive 2025 form, which largely went unnoticed because of how poor last year's car was. Meanwhile Colapinto also gained confidence that has made him a more stable presence in the midfield and eased doubts around his long-term future.
The bad
In a similar fashion to Haas, Alpine started off strong but has since been caught by the rest of the midfield. It lost its status of 'best of the rest' to an impressively consistent Racing Bulls squad, which has continued racking up points to pip Alpine to fifth in the constructors' standings in Hungary. Alpine has also seen Audi make great strides.
From being a regular in Q3, Alpine had to battle to get into Q2 in Hungary, which is the result of being out of sync with the rest of the midfield in terms of upgrades, and therefore lacking downforce. The next big package is expected in Zandvoort right after the summer break, and is projected to give a clearer picture of whether or not Alpine can regain the upper hand over the final stretch of races.
What they're saying
Flavio Briatore, executive advisor: "Racing Bulls scoring with both cars again has dropped us to sixth in the standings. We simply have to admit that they have done a better job in this phase of the year. We know that developments and upgrades are coming very soon, and we need to make big jumps that we know we're capable of.
"We need to use this feeling as added motivation at Enstone to turn things around. We haven't been good enough recently, but there's still half of the season left and what matters most is where we finish at the final race.”
