Gasly believes Alpine can challenge F1's top teams by 2026

Pierre Gasly is confident that Alpine has the potential to join Formula 1's leading pack by the 2026 season, following a significant step forward in performance at the Chinese Grand Prix. After a dismal 2025 season as a backmarker, the team's early focus on its 2026 car and switch to Mercedes power has propelled it back into a competitive midfield position, with Gasly securing a strong sixth-place finish in Shanghai.

Why it matters:

Alpine's resurgence from the back of the grid to a genuine points contender shakes up the competitive order and validates its radical strategy shift. For a team that ended its own engine program to focus entirely on chassis development with a customer Mercedes power unit, demonstrating this level of performance so early is a crucial morale boost and signals its ambition to climb higher.

The details:

• A Remarkable Turnaround: From being a clear backmarker in 2025, Alpine has bounced back into the midfield fight. Gasly highlighted the stark contrast, stating, "Looking at ‘25 where we were and where we are now, it's a completely different league."
• Standout Shanghai Performance: Gasly's weekend in China was a breakthrough. He qualified an impressive seventh for the Grand Prix, ahead of both Red Bulls, and converted that into a sixth-place finish in the race—equaling the team's best result since late 2024.
• Narrowing the Gap: The Frenchman pointed to the shrinking deficit to front-running teams, noting the qualifying gap to McLaren was only three-tenths of a second. "They are not miles ahead," he said, indicating the team is on the cusp of joining the fight ahead.
• Unrealized Potential: Gasly believes there is more performance to unlock, citing "many little things which we need to fine-tune and fix" that are not fundamental limitations. He felt a potential fifth-place finish in China was lost due to a safety car restart issue.

What's next:

Gasly's target is now to solidify Alpine's position and start challenging the teams directly ahead. "The target is... to hopefully create a bit of a gap with the guys behind and come knock at the heels of the guys in front," he stated. While cautious about setting firm expectations, the driver's optimism is fueled by a tangible performance step and the promise of more upgrades to come. The coming races will be critical to determine if China was a one-off highlight or the start of a sustained climb up the order for the Enstone squad.