Pierre Gasly has made Alpine’s ambitions clear following a promising performance at the Chinese Grand Prix, with the French driver openly targeting Ferrari as the next benchmark. After showing encouraging pace throughout the Shanghai weekend, Alpine now aims to close the gap to the Scuderia while continuing to move ahead of its direct rivals in the midfield battle.
The race weekend in Shanghai proved to be a positive one for the Enstone-based team, as both drivers managed to finish inside the points. Franco Colapinto fought his way back through the field after an incident with Esteban Ocon, while Pierre Gasly consistently remained just behind the top teams across nearly every session. Building on these results, Gasly has raised expectations, emphasizing that Alpine is not far from Ferrari in terms of performance and is determined to get even closer in the coming races.
The Mercedes power unit has undoubtedly played a significant role in Alpine’s step forward, helping the team climb up the standings. It is worth remembering that in 2025 Alpine finished at the bottom of the championship after ending its development program early in order to focus entirely on the new 2026 regulations. This long-term strategy now appears to be starting to deliver its first tangible results.
The opening race in Australia had been disappointing for Alpine, especially after placing so much emphasis on the 2026 project. However, the Chinese Grand Prix provided far more encouraging answers. A better understanding of the power unit’s behavior has clearly contributed to this improvement, allowing the team to extract more consistent performance from the car.
Pierre Gasly highlights Alpine’s positive performance
The French driver finished the race in China in sixth position, demonstrating strong pace throughout the entire weekend. Pierre Gasly believes that Alpine is not too far behind teams like McLaren and Ferrari and has openly expressed the team’s ambition to close the gap to the front. At this stage of the season, the main on-track battle appears to be against Haas, with Gasly expecting several close fights with Oliver Bearman in the coming races.
“We did a good job in qualifying, a couple of tenths off McLaren. In the first stint, I didn’t lose much ground to Ferrari. There are still many small things we need to refine and fix, which are not impossible limits,” he said during the Shanghai weekend.
“The goal is simply to create a small gap to the guys behind and be able to chase those ahead, hoping to get into the fight,” he added, referring to the current competitive landscape.
A clear improvement compared to 2025
For much of last season, Alpine was at the very back of the grid, struggling to compete with its rivals. Expectations for 2026 were significantly higher, although the disappointing result in Australia initially raised concerns about the car’s true performance level. What was seen in China, however, may represent a more accurate picture of the car’s real competitiveness.
“Looking at 2025, where we were and where we are now, it’s a completely different championship, so I’m very happy,” the French driver reiterated. “So I’m quite confident. China was special. I hope that the performances in the next races will be very similar to what we saw here.”
With growing confidence, improved understanding of the car, and steady progress in performance, Alpine now appears ready to challenge more consistently at the front of the midfield—and potentially begin closing the gap to Ferrari as the 2026 Formula 1 season continues to unfold.
