Pierre Gasly raises the bar as Alpine impress: “Ferrari is our next goal”. Pierre Gasly is setting ambitious goals for Alpine after a strong start to the 2026 F1 season.

Alpine has made a strong start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, and Pierre Gasly is already thinking big, raising expectations beyond simply being “best of the rest” as he targets even more ambitious goals for the team’s future progress.

Surprise Alpine

Fifteen points collected in just three races and an eighth place in the drivers’ standings represent Pierre Gasly’s impressive early-season record in 2026, a campaign that has begun under highly positive circumstances for Alpine following the departure from Renault power units and the switch to the much-anticipated Mercedes engine.

Between Melbourne, Shanghai, and Suzuka, the French driver has already scored almost three-quarters of the total points the team managed in the entire previous season, when he finished 18th in the championship with just 22 points overall.

That the A526 represents a completely different level compared to its predecessors was also highlighted by Max Verstappen’s sarcastic gesture during the Japanese Grand Prix. After being overtaken by his former teammate, the Dutchman raised his hand in a brief wave, fully aware he would not have the pace to immediately fight back against Gasly.

Pierre Gasly thinks big

Overall, Alpine has emerged as a surprising fourth force on the grid at the start of the season, even if the standings currently place the French outfit in fifth position behind Haas, level on points with Red Bull.

However, this is not Pierre Gasly’s ultimate objective. After the Suzuka race, he spoke enthusiastically about what he described as his “midfield victory” — finishing as the best driver outside Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren — and immediately raised the bar for the upcoming rounds.

“I am very happy that our car is competitive on all types of circuits,” he explained, revealing his ambition to fight further up the Formula 1 order. “It gives me a lot of confidence. At Suzuka I was around three to four tenths per lap behind Lewis Hamilton, but Ferrari is our next target. We need to do everything in our power to catch them.”

“Right now the gap is still too big to realistically be involved in the fight for the podium, but after the summer break I would really like to see Alpine in the same group as McLaren and Ferrari,” Pierre Gasly concluded.