BWT Alpine Formula One Team – Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto in the mix after a working Friday at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix

BWT Alpine Formula One Team weren’t expecting an easy Friday in Monaco — but the team left the day with enough to work on and enough to be encouraged by.

Pierre Gasly finished tenth in Free Practice 1 (1’15.828, +1.850) and eleventh in Free Practice 2 (1’14.497, +1.471). Franco Colapinto ended both sessions in fifteenth — 1’16.189 then 1’14.758 — his evening run cut short after brushing the barriers at Sainte-Dévote. Both A526s are in the fight for points, but the team knows there is work to do before Saturday qualifying.

BWT Alpine Formula One Team – Friday – Free Practice 1 & Free Practice 2

Two red flags disrupted the opening session — a crash for Isack Hadjar, then a contact involving Fernando Alonso — cutting into available track time for the entire field. Within those compressed circumstances, Pierre Gasly built his session well to take tenth with a 1’15.828, 1.850 seconds off Charles Leclerc who led the timesheets. Franco Colapinto crossed the line fifteenth at 1’16.189, 0.361s behind his team-mate. Both drivers completed 32 laps.

The afternoon session, run on a progressively rubbered-in surface, saw Lewis Hamilton set the pace with a 1’13.026. Gasly confirmed his consistency in eleventh with a 1’14.497. Colapinto improved to fifteenth at 1’14.758, but managed only 31 laps compared to his team-mate’s 37 — after a lock-up at the exit of Sainte-Dévote, the first corner and an unforgiving one at Monaco, sent him into light contact with the barriers. No structural damage, he returned to the pits under his own power, but the mechanical checks cost him track time he couldn’t recover.

Alpine arrived in Monaco with the smallest update package on the grid — a single component declared to the FIA: a revised rear wing with additional winglets on the flaps to generate more local downforce. On a circuit where top speed barely matters and confidence through slow corners is everything, the logic is clear. It is one more step in the A526’s ongoing in-season development programme, the car powered by a Mercedes power unit.

Gasly described the day as broadly positive, though he acknowledged it hadn’t all been straightforward. Getting fully comfortable with the 2026 cars — slightly smaller and lighter than previous generations — remains a work in progress, even for a driver who knows these streets as well as anyone. Colapinto, who now lives in the Principality, flagged that traction and braking still need attention to get the car’s balance right. Steve Nielsen confirmed it plainly: the Argentinian isn’t yet happy with how his car feels in those two areas. Gasly is closer to where he wants to be, but the team is under no illusion — there is still plenty to sort before qualifying.

In the championship, Alpine sit fifth among constructors on 35 points — Gasly eighth in the drivers’ standings with 20, Colapinto eleventh with 15. The team’s best collective result of the season came in Canada, and both drivers know that Friday-to-Saturday improvements are something this team tends to deliver. Free Practice 3 on Saturday morning is the last window before the most-watched qualifying session of the year. The target is simple: both A526s into Q3, and a grid position that keeps the points within reach on Sunday.

They said

Pierre Gasly

“It’s great to be back in Monaco and it’s always a pleasure to drive here. The feeling is a little different this year with the cars being slightly smaller and lighter than previous seasons, but it remains very enjoyable to drive a Formula 1 car.

We completed a lot of laps today and it’s crucial to have a smooth, consistent day without too many interruptions in Monaco. A big part of our work in practice in Monaco is focused on low-fuel running and qualifying preparation. We were in or around the top ten for a good while, so we’re clearly in the fight for points.

We’re probably not as competitive as on other circuits and there are certainly several things to improve, as not everything was totally straightforward. We have a lot of work to do analysing the data before the final practice session tomorrow, as our goal is to be as well-prepared as possible for the most important qualifying of the season.”

Franco Colapinto

“It was a decent day for us in Monaco as we return to Europe and a traditional format with two free practice sessions on Friday. It’s always special to drive here, especially as I now live here. I would say we still have a bit of work to do and we clearly need to find more performance.

It’s such a specific and unique place compared to most other tracks that I think it’s more about fine-tuning certain details rather than making big changes. Generally, the car feels good and these slightly smaller and lighter cars are still enjoyable to drive. We have less management around energy recovery and deployment with the power unit, so the goal is really to find a setup that gives us a bit more comfort while focusing on solid laps.

We generally make good progress between Friday and Saturday, so our aim is to be more competitive by qualifying tomorrow.”

Steve Nielsen – Sporting Director

“It wasn’t our best Friday and we’re certainly not satisfied with our position after the first two free practice sessions. We weren’t able to get many clean laps, but that was also the case for others, and we can see that the track is constantly evolving, as is often the case on a street circuit.

In these conditions where you can gain a lot of time and performance, it’s difficult to say whether the classification truly reflects our pace and I think there is clearly room for improvement compared to our current position. Franco isn’t happy with his car’s balance, so we need to work on that, particularly on traction and braking. Pierre is a little more satisfied, but there is still a lot of work to do nonetheless. We tend not to shine particularly on Fridays before making progress through the weekend.

I hope that will also be the case in Monaco and that we’ll come back stronger tomorrow, especially given the importance of qualifying and track position here. The goal remains to get both cars into Q3 and to fight for the big points in the top ten. We know, however, that this race is somewhat different from others in the season and can throw up some surprises. It’s up to us to work hard to be ready and to optimise everything.”

Results – Free Practice 1 & Free Practice 2

132 laps, three compounds, two sessions — here is the full picture from BWT Alpine Formula One Team’s Friday at the Circuit de Monaco.

Source: BWT Alpine Formula One Team / FIA – Official results of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix