Pierre Gasly issues ‘excited’ but cautious approach to new Alpine era

Pierre Gasly has admitted he is “excited” by the prospect of a positive Formula 1 season with Alpine this year, but also intimated caution amid the sport’s new uncertainty.

Alpine suffered a wretched 2025, in which it was rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship, a falldown from its sixth-placed showing the season before.

The Enstone-based squad scored a meagre 22 points, all of which scored by the Frenchman, amid additional instabilities caused by a mid-season change in team-mate and Team Principal.

It also confirmed a huge decision to forego its status as an Original Engine Manufacturer, with the closure of Renault’s Viry base.

Now, Alpine is a Mercedes customer team, which will provide a buoyant sense of expectation, given the pre-season indications the German marque has produced one of, if not the best, power units on the 2026 grid.

But at the launch of its A526 challenger, Gasly appeared glass-half-full about the possibility of a successful campaign, but issued a degree of pragmatism in approach.

“This is the first time in my career where the entire car has had such significant changes,” he said.

“Of course, everyone heads into this unknown territory, but, as a driver, I find that so exciting. This has been a long road for the team to reach this point. We have been working hard on the simulator over the past year in preparation for these new regulations and I know everyone at Enstone has worked extremely hard to develop the best possible package.”

‘This is not the final product’: Pierre Gasly warns there’s lots to come from new Alpine

Gasly, like many in F1 this year, indicated that the early results may not reflect the eventual outcome, and warned that what he has already seen from the car is just a fraction of what it could be capable of.

“What we see in the first few weeks of the year, beginning with the shakedown next week, will be interesting but this is not the final product as we will continue to learn and develop the entire package each time we’re on track,” he contined.

“I am not setting myself any expectations. It will be a case of working really hard with the team to understand areas to improve and we will take it day by day and just try to be as competitive as we can throughout the year.

“Of course, I am excited and optimistic, but very much realistic in my ambitions. Right now, my feeling is of immense pride that the team has reached all its milestones in preparing the A526.”