BWT Alpine Formula One Team – Test 2, day 2: Colapinto sixth in 1’33’’818 after 120 laps in Bahrain

BWT Alpine Formula One Team made full use of the second day of Test 2 in Bahrain on February 19, 2026.

On the 5.412 km Sakhir layout, Franco Colapinto completed 120 laps — 650 kilometres — without any major incident. He ended the day sixth overall with a 1’33’’818, 1.015 seconds off the benchmark set by Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Beyond the classification, the day showed a team executing its plan with discipline.

BWT Alpine Formula One Team : Test 2, day 2 – laying the foundations before chasing the stopwatch

At 10:00 local time, under steady sunshine and temperatures between 22 and 27°C, the Alpine A526 left the garage fitted with aerodynamic rakes. The priority was not lap time, but validating correlation between CFD, the wind tunnel and the real track.

The opening runs were completed on heavy fuel and C3 tyres. Lap times hovered around 1’38–1’39. The Mercedes engine was run at reduced output to preserve components and secure long-run data. Top speed suffered slightly, but the programme stayed on schedule.

As the track evolved, the team switched to short runs to explore different suspension and balance configurations. Lap times settled in the 1’36–1’37 range. The Alpine remained consistent, without abrupt swings in behaviour.

A minor anomaly in ERS battery cooling appeared early in the morning. A quick software adjustment resolved it, with no prolonged stop.

Towards the end of the morning, Franco Colapinto moved onto C2 tyres for a longer stint to monitor degradation. Lap times gradually drifted from low 1’37s to high 1’38s. Degradation stayed under control. The morning’s best lap, 1’35’’506, placed Alpine provisionally somewhere between sixth and tenth as the order shifted on track.

By the 14:00 break, between 54 and 69 laps had been completed depending on the sequences considered. The initial programme had been followed in full.

Afternoon: unlocking performance

The 15:00 restart marked a change in tone. Morning data had been analysed, aerodynamic balance adjusted, and electrical deployment refined.

Franco Colapinto ran through a sequence on C4 tyres. The pace came step by step. Around 16:00, a first meaningful marker appeared: 1’34’’622. The A526 gained stability through the circuit’s fast section.

Late in the session, the team fitted C5s for a more aggressive simulation. The lap was clean, with no visible mistake: 1’33’’818. Sixth overall, 1.015 seconds off the reference Mercedes.

The mileage order had Alpine fifth on the day behind McLaren (158 laps), Mercedes (156), Red Bull (139) and Ferrari (114). Reliability was there: no prolonged stop, no mechanical failure, no off-track moment. A red flag caused by Aston Martin in the afternoon did not meaningfully disrupt the team’s programme.

The final runs focused on simulations closer to race conditions. Degradation stayed contained, consistency validated.

At 19:00, the tally stood at 120 laps. A full day.

BWT Alpine Formula One Team – Conclusion

This Day 2 did not deliver a headline statement; it laid out a method. Alpine first sought to confirm that the Alpine A526 reproduces the numbers seen in the wind tunnel. A correlation above 93% means the aerodynamic platform is not a promise but measurable reality. It is a foundation. Without it, no sustainable progress is possible.

The work then focused on gradually widening the setup window. The car moved from heavy fuel to more aggressive simulations, from medium tyres to the softest compounds, from installation laps to qualifying sequences. At each step, the team validated consistency: no long stoppage, no worrying thermal drift, and tyre degradation better contained than last year.

The Mercedes engine, run at reduced output, completed the full programme without any mechanical alert. Over 120 laps, endurance still outweighs a single headline lap. The 1.015-second gap to the reference is real, but it sits within a context of conservative power management. The question is not whether Alpine can find a few tenths by unleashing the power unit; it is whether the car, once pushed at full load, will retain the stability observed throughout the day.

What Bahrain primarily reveals is a solid midfield order. Alpine operates in direct proximity to Audi, ahead of Williams and Haas in lateral load, but still at a distance from Mercedes and McLaren in qualifying configuration. The main deficit remains in slow corners, on throttle application, where mechanical grip decides the lap time.

The progression described by Franco Colapinto is not a throwaway line; it follows technical logic. Understanding first, performance second. The Alpine A526 has not yet shown its ceiling, but it has shown it can stick to its plan.

They said

Franco Colapinto :

“I’m pleased to end my pre-season testing on a positive note after completing 120 laps during a very intense day. Conditions were hot throughout, and it was good to put together two solid sessions and complete a high mileage total.

We have gradually expanded our programme in Barcelona and Bahrain because there is a huge amount to learn and absorb with these new cars. We faced some challenges at times, but the team has done an excellent job, especially this week, logging plenty of kilometres and providing valuable data to analyse.

Personally, it was beneficial today to begin pushing the car more and working on different setups. We have ideas to improve further, and I’m sure Pierre will be keen to try them tomorrow as he takes over for the full day to finalise our pre-season programme.

I will follow it closely before spending time at the factory ahead of the season properly getting underway.”

Pierre Gasly will take over to complete the programme. The data gathered in Bahrain already outlines the priorities: improving mechanical grip in slow corners and fully exploiting the Mercedes engine when the regulatory and strategic context demands it.

Performance table – February 19, 2026

BWT Alpine Formula One Team – Test 2, Day 1 :

Source: BWT Alpine Formula One Team