After finishing last year’s Championship in rock bottom, Alpine see 2026 as a chance for redemption. With Mercedes power and an early decision to abandon last season’s A525 to prioritise the 2026 regulations, there are no excuses for Alpine this season.
Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore emphasised this point at Alpine’s official launch on Friday, where he also called upon on his drivers to provide the final piece of the puzzle.
Alpine completed their first ‘filming day’ of the year in Silverstone yesterday, officially getting the A526’s first laps on the board.
Whilst these shakedown primarily consist of preliminary checks, Alpine were notably pleased with how smoothly proceedings went.
Alpine reflect on solid first day of running for A526
During the ground effect era (2022-2025), Alpine were often the team most troubled by reliability issues. This was especially prevalent in 2022, when both engine and mechanical failures became a major limiting factor.
Heading into a new generation of cars, ensuring a high level of reliability is of the utmost importance. Particularly to start the season, having a dependable package could prove a huge advantages.
Because of this, some outfits have been cautious about how many laps they complete in their 2026 shakedowns.
Although teams are permitted to run for a maximum of 200km on these ‘filming days’, many have opted for less vigorous programmes – preferring to take a more cautious approach to minimise the chances of any issues.
Only once teams are more confident will they increase the volume and intensity of their programmes. In this sense, next week’s Barcelona tests will provide some useful indicators.
For Alpine, their first session with the A526 when very smoothly. Technical Director David Sanchez, as quoted by nextgen-auto, was more than satisfied with the team’s Silverstone debut:
“Right from the start, being able to string together laps without stopping is a real confidence booster. It shows that we can arrive in Barcelona and get straight to work.
“We wanted to do the 200 km. On Wednesday morning, we went straight out for a 5 or 6 lap stint, and the car was working well. Then we stopped while waiting for the weather to improve, but it never really did.”
“In the middle of the afternoon, we said to ourselves – ‘Okay, what do we do? We have to go out.’ We sent Pierre out, we simply left him on the track, and he went around and around.
“We only stopped because he told us it was starting to get dark, and he was having trouble seeing.
“Honestly, reaching 200km would have been quite easy. It just gives us a little more confidence before going to Barcelona and being able to immediately rack up the laps.”
