Alpine arrives at the Formula 1 Hungarian GP next weekend, aiming to enter the category’s break on a high note. After a weekend with mixed results at Spa-Francorchamps, the French team believes it can take advantage of the characteristics of the Hungaroring circuit to seek a more competitive performance.
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The Budapest circuit represents a very different challenge from the last two rounds of the calendar. More twisty and technical, the track will also require a different energy management than seen at Spa and Silverstone, something that could favor the current generation of cars.
Pierre Gasly admitted that the last few weeks have been difficult for the French team, especially due to the evolution of their rivals in the fight for top-10 positions: “In recent weeks, everything has become much more challenging for us, with some of our rivals making our lives more difficult in both qualifying sessions and races. We know what we need to do to improve, but we have to accept that this won’t be solved overnight,” he stated.
The Frenchman emphasized that the focus is on correcting details to maximize the result: “There are some things we know we can do better, so that will be the focus this weekend, executing small details and trying to maximize our final result,” he said. Gasly also recalled the frustration of leaving Belgium without scoring points: “I was disappointed not to score points at Spa, so I’m going to Budapest motivated and hungry for a good team result,” he added.
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Franco Colapinto, on the other hand, arrives boosted by the point scored at the Belgian GP. The Argentine believes Alpine showed more competitiveness at Spa and hopes to maintain this trend in Hungary: “I was very happy to score a point on Sunday, after a long race battling for position with Pierre and Liam Lawson. We seemed a bit stronger compared to our rivals in Belgium and we want to continue that way in Budapest, even though it’s a completely different circuit,” Colapinto declared.
The driver also highlighted his good relationship with Hungaroring, where he achieved positive results in junior categories: “Energy management will be more normal compared to the last two rounds, because of the large number of corners, so I hope we can have a lot of fun with this year’s lighter cars,” concluded the Argentine.
In addition to the main duo this weekend, Alpine will have Paul Aron in FP1. The Estonian will make his first free practice appearance for the team in 2026, and hopes to turn the work done in the simulator into useful information for the rest of the weekend: “It will be very valuable to go out on track and feel the car for real. I want to take this opportunity and help in the best possible way,” he added.
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