Gasly Prioritizes Hard Work Over Expectations for Alpine's 2026 Campaign

Pierre Gasly heads into his tenth Formula 1 season and his fourth with Alpine adopting a grounded perspective for the 2026 campaign. Despite delivering 100% of the team’s points in 2025, the French driver is refraining from setting specific performance targets as Alpine navigates a massive regulatory reset with the new A526.

Why it matters:

Alpine faces a critical juncture with the 2026 regulations offering a rare opportunity to reset the competitive order. Gasly’s realistic approach provides necessary stability for the team, focusing on extracting maximum potential from the new package rather than chasing unrealistic results during a period of significant technical uncertainty.

The details:

• 2025 Foundation: Gasly was the sole point scorer for Alpine last season, reaching Q3 on ten occasions. This consistency proved his ability to extract performance from the car, a skill vital for developing a new machine.
• The A526 Project: The team has devoted months to simulator work to prepare for the sweeping technical changes. Gasly noted that this is the first time in his career where the entire car has undergone such significant transformation.
• Realistic Mindset: "I am not setting myself any expectations," Gasly stated during the livery launch. He emphasized a strategy of working "day by day" to understand the car's behavior and identify areas for improvement.
• Embracing the Unknown: Rather than fearing the new regulations, Gasly finds the prospect of tackling the unknown exciting. He views the upcoming shakedown not as a definitive judgment of the car's pace, but as the beginning of a long development curve.

Looking ahead:

The immediate focus shifts to the upcoming shakedown, where the A526 will hit the track for the first time. Gasly believes the initial weeks will be interesting but emphasizes that the car is far from a finished product. With the Enstone team having hit all preparation milestones, the objective is to evolve the package throughout the year to establish Alpine as a competitive force.