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BWT Alpine Formula One Team leaves the Miami Grand Prix with four valuable points thanks to Franco Colapinto’s eighth-place finish. On an abrasive track, highly demanding on rear tyres and particularly sensitive to traction, the French outfit confirmed its strength in the midfield despite Pierre Gasly’s early retirement.
Under typical Florida humidity, with track temperatures approaching 50°C, the race quickly became a strategic exercise. The Pirelli C3, C4 and C5 compounds required careful management on a layout where slow corner exits heavily stress the rear axle.
BWT Alpine Formula One Team – Race
A two-sided race for Alpine in the Miami heat
The Miami International Autodrome imposes a specific discipline on cars. Long traction zones, especially in slow sectors, immediately punish unstable throttle application. For the Alpine A526, equipped with the Miami upgrade package — new rear wing, revised endplates and modified rear suspension — the target was clear: stabilize corner exits and preserve rear tyres.
Franco Colapinto made full use of these improvements, maintaining a consistent pace throughout the race. Pierre Gasly, however, never had the opportunity to unlock the car’s potential after a dramatic incident in the opening laps.
The start, brought forward to 13:00 local time to avoid incoming storms, placed drivers in heavy and demanding conditions.
Kimi Antonelli held the lead from pole position while Lando Norris stayed within immediate reach. Behind them, the pack quickly compressed.
Within the opening laps, the race turned for BWT Alpine Formula One Team. Isack Hadjar, starting from the pit lane after a qualifying disqualification, struck a kerb and suffered suspension failure. Almost simultaneously, Pierre Gasly found himself in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Liam Lawson.
On the outside of a corner, contact between the two cars caused the Alpine A526 to lose control. The car lifted before flipping over, coming to rest upside down. The Safety Car was immediately deployed.
Thanks to the halo and survival cell, Pierre Gasly walked away unharmed. The stewards ruled it a racing incident with no further action.
This neutralization created a strategic opportunity for Franco Colapinto. Staying clear of trouble, the Argentine gained several positions as the field regrouped.
From that point on, his race was built on consistency. With tyre degradation remaining limited despite the heat, Alpine opted for a standard one-stop strategy, most likely Medium to Hard.
“Alpine may not yet have the pace of the top teams, but consistency is becoming a real strength in 2026.”
The Alpine A526 showed strong stability in long traction phases. Colapinto carefully managed his rear tyres while maintaining a steady pace against midfield pressure.
With no further interruptions after the opening Safety Car, the race gradually settled. Mercedes and McLaren controlled the front, while Alpine secured a valuable position within the midfield hierarchy.
Franco Colapinto crossed the line in eighth place, 1 minute and 1.871 seconds behind race winner Kimi Antonelli. It marks his best Grand Prix result of the 2026 season and brings four important points to BWT Alpine Formula One Team.
Pierre Gasly was officially classified as not classified after retiring in the opening laps.
BWT Alpine Formula One Team confirms its status as fifth force
The Miami result confirms Alpine’s progress in the 2026 hierarchy. Behind Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, the French team now stands as the benchmark of the midfield.
Franco Colapinto finished ahead of direct rivals from Audi, Williams, Haas and Racing Bulls. In a tightly contested championship, these four points allow Alpine to consolidate fifth place in the Constructors’ standings.
With 21 points after Miami, BWT Alpine Formula One Team maintains a narrow advantage over Haas and continues to capitalize on every opportunity.
They said
Franco Colapinto – 8th
“More points with an eighth-place finish, so I’m happy with today. It’s been a really good week overall.
I’m very pleased — between being in Buenos Aires last weekend, meeting one of my heroes, Lionel Messi, and now scoring points here at the Miami Grand Prix, it’s been quite special.
I’d say we maximised everything we could today, and that reflects where we currently stand in the championship. It was a bit of a lonely race in P8. The top teams are still too far ahead, but we did a solid job as a team on strategy, pit stops and execution.
My launch off the line wasn’t great, which cost me a few places, but we managed to recover them fairly quickly and get back more or less to where I started.
There was a small contact with Lewis [Hamilton], fortunately without too much damage, and we were able to continue. After that, the pace was strong and we managed things well to finish eighth.
Big credit to the whole team for their effort. The work continues ahead of Montreal, where we’ll aim to keep this momentum going and score even more points.”
Pierre Gasly – NC
“First of all, I’m okay after the incident with Liam [Lawson]. It’s extremely scary to be flipped over in Formula 1, so I’m relieved to have come out of it unhurt and that it wasn’t more serious.
It’s even more frustrating because my start was actually quite good — maybe even too good — as I gained several places before having to brake sharply to avoid Max [Verstappen] after his spin. That cost me a few positions and dropped us back into the pack.
I was confident about our race pace, especially after yesterday, so I knew we had a strong chance of scoring big points if we could run in clean air.
Everything came to an end because of the incident with Liam, which in my opinion was completely avoidable and should never have happened. He came to apologize, but I’m mostly disappointed for the team because we had the pace and we deserved points.
There’s a lot for us to analyse ahead of Canada to keep improving our package. We are the fifth-fastest team on the grid, and we need to consolidate that position while continuing to chase the teams ahead.”
Performance Table – Miami Grand Prix
In a race defined by early chaos and demanding tyre management, BWT Alpine Formula One Team secured a solid result thanks to Franco Colapinto.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Status | Gap to leader | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 57 | 1:33:19.273 | – | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 57 | +3.264 s | +3.264 s | 18 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 57 | +27.092 s | +27.092 s | 15 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 57 | +43.051 s | +43.051 s | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 57 | +43.949 s | +43.949 s | 10 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 57 | +44.245 s | +44.245 s | 8 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 57 | +53.753 s | +53.753 s | 6 |
| 8 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 57 | +1:01.871 s | +1:01.871 s | 4 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Audi | 57 | +1:12.342 s | +1:12.342 s | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 57 | +1:18.659 s | +1:18.659 s | 1 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 57 | +1:25.114 s | +1:25.114 s | 0 |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 56 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 56 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 56 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 56 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Haas | 56 | +1 lap | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 55 | +2 laps | +2 laps | 0 |
| 18 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 3 | Accident | NC | 0 |
| 19 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1 | Accident | NC | 0 |
🔗 Read also on Les Alpinistes
- Miami Grand Prix 2026 – Sprint Race: Pierre Gasly scores a point in Sprint, Franco Colapinto confirms his rise at the Miami Grand Prix 2026
- Miami Grand Prix 2026 – Practice & Sprint Qualifying: Franco Colapinto impresses in Miami, Pierre Gasly still searching for balance
Source: BWT Alpine Formula One Team
