The start of the 2026 Formula 1 season left mixed feelings at Alpine. After showing good performance in the pre-season tests, the team failed to transfer that potential to the Australian Grand Prix, where it barely scored one point thanks to Pierre Gasly's tenth place
.The French team arrived in Melbourne with high expectations after dedicating a good part of last year to the development of its new car, the A526, in the context of the regulatory change that debuted this year in the category. However, qualifying performance fell short of expectations: Gasly was 14th and Franco Colapinto 16th, both eliminated
in Q2.
In the race, the French driver managed to save a point thanks to a good start that got him into the fight for the bottom of the top ten. Colapinto, on the other hand, had his performance compromised after receiving a penalty caused by a team error
.After the debut at the Albert Park circuit, the CEO of Alpine, Steve Nielsen, explained what the car's main drawback was. As detailed, the team detected an aerodynamic problem in the front wing that generates understeer
in fast corners.“High-speed balancing is clearly not optimal, so it needs to be addressed. This is manifested in the form of understeer; therefore, we have understeer at high speed. We saw some of that in Bahrain, so we're aware of it,” Nielsen told
the press.This aerodynamic defect causes the car to tend to crash in fast corners, forcing drivers to slow down more in order to bend properly.
The team is already working on a solution, although the improvements will not be ready for the next Chinese Grand Prix. “We have parts on the way that we hope will fix it, but they won't be in the car in China. It's an injury that we're carrying around right now, even though we think we know how to resolve it,” Nielsen
said.However, the Shanghai circuit could minimize the impact of the problem, as it has fewer high-speed corners than the Melbourne track. Meanwhile, Alpine is working against the clock at its factory to introduce improvements to the Japanese Grand Prix, the third round of the championship.
When does Colapinto return to racing
After a difficult debut in Australia, the Argentine driver will resume action next weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix, between Friday 13th and Sunday 15th of March at the Shanghai International Circuit
