Alpine is preparing for the first race of the season at Albert Park, a circuit that has consistently delivered surprising and action-packed races. The Enstone-based team aims to build a solid weekend, with both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto targeting their first points of the season. Let’s explore their thoughts ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly’s words
“I can’t wait to go to Melbourne to kick off the new Formula 1 season and race under the new regulations for the first time. Over the past month, we conducted very positive tests in Barcelona and Bahrain, and I’m extremely proud of the team and all the work they’ve put in. Last week, I was at the simulator in Enstone, and everyone did an outstanding job to prepare us properly ahead of the Australian GP. Albert Park will be a very interesting test for these new cars. The circuits we’ve driven on so far are very different from this one,” the Frenchman said.
Melbourne is a track that contrasts sharply with Montmeló and Sakhir: “The medium-speed corners of Barcelona and the long braking zones in Bahrain are very different from the fluid nature of Melbourne, where the weather is often unpredictable. There will be many factors to manage when we race for the first time this year. I’m eager to see how Formula 1 will feel in 2026,” he concluded.
Franco Colapinto
The Argentine driver expressed great excitement: “I can’t wait to get on track in Melbourne and start this new season. This is my third year in Formula 1, but the first time I’ve taken part in pre-season testing and the first GP of the year. This experience has been very useful to understand these new cars because our goal is to be competitive this year. Our tests in Barcelona and Bahrain were generally positive, and we collected a lot of data that was analyzed during intense simulator sessions in Enstone. We learn something new every session, and it will definitely be the same when we start free practice at Albert Park.”
Colapinto knows Melbourne well and is ready to push to the limit: “It’s a very fast circuit where I’ve raced in F2 and F3, and I expect an exciting challenge with this new generation of Formula 1 cars. We’ll work hard on Friday to approach qualifying and the race in the best possible conditions. I can’t wait to give my maximum effort and see where we stand. It will be a new way of racing for all of us, and I’m curious to see how it will go,” he concluded.
While we await the Alpine team’s performance in Australia, here you can find the schedule for the Australian GP.
Alpine therefore arrives in Melbourne looking to capitalize on the stability of its driver pairing during a time of immense technical transition. For Pierre Gasly, the focus is on translating Enstone’s winter simulator work into tangible track performance, while Franco Colapinto finally gets the full pre-season preparation he has worked toward for years. The flowing nature of Albert Park will be the first true indicator of how the new A526 handles high-speed direction changes and complex energy recovery—a challenge that could play into the hands of a team that has historically found success through strategic consistency. If Gasly and Colapinto can master the unpredictable Melbourne climate, Alpine could emerge as the leading force in the chasing pack of this bold new era.
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