Alpine have officially turned the page and opened a new era by unveiling the A526 of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto. Set against a spectacular backdrop, with a Mediterranean cruise acting as the stage, the French team revealed the car with which it aims to begin a fresh chapter, not only because of the new regulations, but also due to the switch to Mercedes power units. The objective is clear: look upwards and start climbing the standings.
A cruise as the stage and the Mediterranean as the backdrop. To kick off its season and present the A526, Alpine opted for one of the most striking and visually impressive launches of recent years, with a deep blue sea echoing the dominant colour of the car’s livery. It was a launch in grand style to signal a true new beginning, because this is genuinely a fresh start, not only dictated by the regulatory overhaul.
After a complicated 2025 season, spent almost holding its breath in order to focus resources and attention on the new technical cycle, Alpine arrive at the launch of their new single-seater with a clear goal: move away from the lower reaches of the standings, aim to be at least the leading team in the midfield, and finally translate into results all the development work carried out behind the scenes in terms of facilities and personnel.
The A526 represents a clear break with the past, not only because it is the first car of the new technical cycle, but also because a different heart beats under the bodywork. For 2026, the French outfit have abandoned Renault power units, following the group’s decision to shut down the project, and will instead run as a Mercedes customer team.
This decision marks a real shift in philosophy and is not driven purely by financial considerations. At Enstone, expectations for the new German power unit are high, with the hope that it can become a real strength and prevent the team from constantly chasing rivals, as happened in the previous technical cycle. Back then, the power deficit of the French power unit often forced engineers into aerodynamic compromises.
It is precisely around this need to turn the page that the A526 has taken shape, a car that stands out in certain areas thanks to some distinctive solutions. The car shown during the cruise launch is not the definitive version. The real A526 has already hit the track at Silverstone a few days ago to complete the traditional 200 km allowed by the regulations, immediately highlighting different choices compared to the renders released by the French team, especially at the front, where the suspension layout has also changed.
Together with Cadillac, Alpine are currently the only other team to have adopted a pull-rod front suspension layout, as seen on the real car during the filming day. This choice goes against the direction taken by most rivals and is likely linked to the philosophy behind the front wing, which during the filming day displayed a curious profile, with a very wide central section that then rises into a pronounced “spoon” shape.
While this trend appeared more subtle on the front wings of rival cars, on the Alpine it looked far more aggressive, giving the wing a very distinctive shape. It is no coincidence that the outermost section of the mainplane seems to connect to the endplate at a relatively high position. It is an intriguing approach, even if it is certainly not the first time Alpine have surprised with unconventional solutions.
The central section of the car follows more conventional ideas, partly seen on other cars as a base concept, featuring an internal ramp that then closes off rather than extending all the way to the floor, unlike Cadillac’s much more aggressive solution. At the rear, Alpine appear to have followed the general trend with a push-rod suspension, a choice likely aimed at maximising available space, given that the regulations still allow for a diffuser of fairly generous dimensions.
If the technical side represents a clean break from the past, there are two clear elements of continuity. The first is the livery, very similar to last season’s, with the blue blending into the pink of main sponsor BWT. The second is the driver line-up.
Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto remain the thread linking past, present and future. The French driver has already taken the A526 onto the track during the rain-affected filming day held a few days ago. Colapinto, confirmed after a strong and improving end to the 2025 season, approaches the start of the new campaign with a very different level of experience compared to when he first joined Alpine last year.
These are the only two elements the team have chosen to carry over from the past, with the genuine hope that 2026 will be the year of a true relaunch towards higher ambitions. The open-sea presentation, with the cruise ship as its setting, is the perfect metaphor: a restart, a change of course, and the search for a new wind to push Alpine forward.
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