BWT Alpine Formula One Team in Baku 2026: the pace, the double Q3 and the collision that cost both cars

BWT Alpine Formula One Team leave Baku without a point, having placed both cars in Q3 and held two top-ten positions in the race. Pierre Gasly, seventh before the safety car, and Franco Colapinto, tenth, both retired after colliding at the restart on lap 36.

The clash also forced Lando Norris to retire. It brought to an end a weekend in which the Alpine A526 had shown its competitiveness, particularly in the hands of the Frenchman.

BWT Alpine Formula One Team: Practice — Progress across all three sessions

The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix ran to a schedule brought forward by one day. The race was set for Saturday 26 September, to avoid Remembrance Day, observed in the country on the Sunday. First practice therefore took place on Thursday, ahead of the final running and qualifying on Friday.

FP1 began on a dirty track offering little grip. Yellow flags interrupted the drivers’ efforts and disrupted Alpine’s programme. Gasly finished sixteenth with a 1:47.043. Colapinto was eighteenth with a 1:47.523. The Argentine highlighted how significantly the asphalt evolved over the course of the session.

In the afternoon, both cars climbed the order. Gasly set the seventh-fastest time with a 1:44.843. Colapinto was eleventh on 1:45.479, 0.636s off his teammate. Steve Nielsen felt these cleaner, more consistent laps gave a better indication of the A526’s pace.

Pierre Gasly slotted in between the McLarens of Norris and Piastri. Mercedes nonetheless retained a clear advantage at the front, with Russell ahead of Antonelli. The session was interrupted by Arvid Lindblad’s crash in the castle section.

Alpine completed 91 laps across Thursday: 45 for Gasly and 46 for Colapinto. That amounted to 546 kilometres. Both drivers used all three compounds nominated by Pirelli, the C3, C4 and C5.

This first day caught the attention of the specialist press. The Race counted Gasly among its standout performers and described Alpine as the car to beat in the midfield, at least in his hands. The outlet also noted McLaren’s difficulties, despite the arrival of bodywork upgrades. Gasly’s seventh place should be seen in that specific context.

Autosport suggested a margin of around half a second over the rest of the group. Its analysis linked this performance to the A526’s ease on power-sensitive circuits, following Gasly’s pole at Monza. The observation, however, was based on Thursday’s practice alone. Audi, Williams, Racing Bulls and Haas were close behind.

On Friday morning, the wind complicated the final session. The track was dusty and strewn with leaves. Gasly and Colapinto were among the first drivers out.

Gasly finished sixth with a 1:44.637, 0.715s behind Verstappen, who set the fastest time ahead of Russell and Hamilton. RACER noted that the Frenchman was quickest in the final sector. This time, he finished ahead of both McLarens. Colapinto took tenth place with a 1:45.592, 0.955s behind the other Alpine.

The order remained tight around the Argentine. He was just 0.013s ahead of Sainz. Around half a second separated tenth and seventeenth places. Both Enstone cars ended practice in the top ten, but their pursuers remained close.

Qualifying — A double Q3, then the yellow flags

Friday’s qualifying confirmed both Alpines among the contenders for Q3. Gasly progressed from Q1 with a 1:44.489. Colapinto set a 1:45.106. At Mercedes, Antonelli hit the wall at Turn 1 and damaged his suspension. His time was enough to reach Q2, but he was unable to return to the track. Both Audis were eliminated in the first phase.

In Q2, Gasly benefited from a tow from Colapinto and went down to a 1:44.106. The Argentine, for his part, set a 1:44.683. His final effort allowed him to snatch tenth place from Oliver Bearman, credited with a 1:44.775. Access to the final phase was therefore decided by 0.092s. Colapinto later pointed out that he had secured his place in Q3 without a tow.

Alpine achieved their third double Q3 of the season. Both Haas and both Racing Bulls cars went no further than Q2, as did Alex Albon’s Williams. For Enstone, the comparison with Racing Bulls mattered particularly: nine points separated the two teams in the Constructors’ Championship at that stage.

The final phase was less polished. At Turn 15, Franco Colapinto locked a wheel and damaged his tyre. The flat spot caused severe vibrations, which he had to endure to complete his final lap. His Q3 time, 1:44.963, was consequently 0.280s slower than his Q2 effort.

The incident also affected Gasly. Recounting the session afterwards, the Frenchman explained that he had been following his teammate two and a half seconds back to benefit from his tow down the long straight. He reckoned he lost two tenths at Turn 15, before finding himself without that assistance in the final part of the lap. Another attempt was then disrupted by an off for Norris.

Gasly finished seventh with a 1:44.047, having improved by just 0.059s on his Q2 benchmark. Hamilton, sixth, was 0.189s ahead of him. The Alpine driver believed he could have beaten him. That possibility remains his own reading of the session, not a position the team would necessarily have secured without the yellow flags.

Behind him, Verstappen missed out by 0.034s. The Dutchman had, however, suffered an engine problem during qualifying. He explained that the malfunction of the internal combustion engine had then affected the recharging of his battery. A yellow flag also compromised his final lap. His eighth place must therefore be read with these difficulties in mind.

Gasly came away pleased with the balance of his car. He spoke of his best feeling in Baku for a long time and of speed built up progressively through Q1 and Q2. Nielsen highlighted the strong set-up window the team had found. The Managing Director also recalled the sixteenth and nineteenth places achieved in qualifying at this circuit the previous year.

Sainz’s penalty then reshaped the grid. Ninth on the timesheets, the Spaniard received a five-place drop for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags. Colapinto gained a position and moved up to ninth. Gasly remained seventh, with Verstappen between the two Alpines.

Race — Both cars in the points before the collision

Both Alpines started the 51-lap race on new medium tyres. Gasly lined up seventh and Colapinto ninth. Verstappen passed the Frenchman at the start of the race, then overtook Hamilton on lap two. Gasly continued behind this group.

Further back, Antonelli was climbing through the field from sixteenth on the grid. On lap 23, he passed Colapinto on the straight to take ninth. The Argentine dropped to tenth.

Gasly stayed in touch with the battle involving Hamilton and Norris. In his post-race assessment, he highlighted the A526’s performance and said he had been able to manage his lead over the rest of the midfield fairly comfortably. This echoed his impressions from practice and qualifying.

On lap 30, Norris locked up at Turn 1 and took the escape road. Gasly and Antonelli moved ahead of him. The Frenchman thus regained seventh place, while the McLaren rejoined ninth, ahead of Colapinto. On the same lap, Albon crashed at Turn 5, bringing out the safety car.

Both Alpines were now in the points. A finish in seventh and tenth would earn the team seven points. However, more than twenty laps remained when the safety car was deployed.

Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto pitted on lap 30 for new softs. Norris, Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen also opted for softs. The Ferraris, Piastri and Hadjar went for mediums.

The restart came on lap 36. Verstappen passed Piastri at Turn 1 to take second place. Further back, Colapinto arrived too quickly into the braking zone. He locked up, dived to the inside and struck the side of Gasly’s Alpine, pitching the Frenchman into Norris. All three cars were caught up in the collision.

Gasly and Norris were forced to retire. Colapinto managed to bring his car back to the pits, but the damage prevented him from continuing. A further safety car period followed. The classification credits Gasly with 35 laps and Colapinto with 36: the collision did indeed occur at the restart on lap 36.

The stewards found Colapinto wholly or predominantly to blame. The ten-second penalty could not be served, as the driver had retired. It was therefore converted into a five-place grid drop for the next round, in Sepang.

Franco Colapinto acknowledged his mistake and apologised to the team, to Gasly and to Norris. He explained that he had locked up on cold tyres and brakes, then lost control. Gasly accepted his apology. Briatore, for his part, said he wanted to take time to consider the measures needed to prevent another incident of this kind.

The championship consequences were immediate. Alpine scored no points. Lindblad finished seventh and earned six for Racing Bulls. The gap between the two teams grew from nine to fifteen points. Ocon, Bearman and Sainz completed the points-paying positions behind him, in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

The seven points associated with the Alpines’ positions before the safety car remain a possible outcome, never a guaranteed one. The actual result is a double retirement, after a double Q3 and a first stint that had kept both cars in the top ten. Added to that loss is now Colapinto’s grid penalty for the next race.

What they said

Pierre Gasly:

‘I’m really disappointed for the whole team today. It’s a huge disappointment for everyone, but we’ll deal with it together and move forward. Franco and I spoke after the incident. He apologised to me and I accept his apology. We’ll also discuss it with the team so we can do better in future. As for our race up to that point, the car was performing well, we had good pace and I was close to Lewis [Hamilton] and Lando [Norris] while managing my gap to the rest of the field fairly comfortably. I felt at ease behind the wheel all week and we need to carry that pace into next weekend in Sepang.’

Franco Colapinto:

‘I’m very disappointed and I’m really sorry for the whole team, the staff at the factory, Pierre and Lando [Norris] of course, as well as everyone who supports us. It was a big mistake on my part and it shouldn’t have happened. I locked up while my tyres and brakes were cold. I lost control. I know the team did a really good job throughout the weekend to give us two competitive cars, and I apologise again, as we were well placed to score points with both cars.’

Flavio Briatore:

‘I am obviously extremely disappointed with today’s result, particularly as we have lost valuable points in the championship fight. This kind of incident should not happen, let alone when both our cars are well placed and in a position to score points. I am truly sorry for the team and for Pierre, who did an excellent job throughout the weekend. My apologies also go to Lando [Norris] and McLaren for ruining their race.

I know Franco has taken full responsibility, as he should. He braked far too late in the context of a restart after a safety car. It was a very clumsy manoeuvre from a driver of his experience. I want to take time to reflect on it and assess what measures to take, so that we can learn from it and ensure such a situation does not happen again.’

2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Results

Constructors’ Championship Standings

Source: BWT Alpine Formula One Team