Pierre Gasly hailed Alpine's 2026 car as the best of his Formula 1 career following his seventh-place finish ahead of Max Verstappen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The French driver withstood intense pressure from the four-time champion over the final laps. Gasly's result helped Alpine maintain a narrow lead over Red Bull in the constructors' standings.
Pierre Gasly secured seventh place in the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing just 0.337 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Starting from seventh in qualifying, including the sprint, Gasly was faster than both Red Bull cars. He built a three-second lead early on before a safety car erased the gap, then defended against Verstappen's pressure for the remaining 26 laps, reclaiming position after being passed on lap 48. Gasly described the race to Canal+: “It was a long race, I must say, with a lot of pressure... we managed to keep him behind and get that seventh place.” He finished seven seconds behind Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari and 18 seconds ahead of Liam Lawson's car. Alpine's A526 showed strong pace, qualifying eighth-fastest in Australia, fourth-quickest in Shanghai and Suzuka. Gasly said: “I think, for now, this is the best car I’ve had in my career, perhaps alongside the 2021 AlphaTauri.” With points from all three races this season, he sits eighth in the drivers' championship on 15 points, ahead of Verstappen. Alpine holds fifth in constructors', ahead of Red Bull, boosted by extra wind tunnel and CFD time from their 2025 position under aerodynamic testing restrictions. Gasly added: “I’m quite happy to see that the car has seemed to work well over the first few weekends... if we keep moving forward, I hope we can catch the leading pack.”
