Gasly Calls Alpine A526 His Best Car After Holding Off Verstappen at Suzuka
The team’s jump stems from a strong A526 baseline aided by extra wind‑tunnel time.
Overview
- Pierre Gasly finished seventh at Suzuka after fending off Max Verstappen for 26 laps and taking the flag 0.337 seconds ahead.
- Gasly said the A526 is the best F1 car of his career and noted he finished about seven seconds behind Lewis Hamilton and 18 seconds clear of Liam Lawson.
- A safety car erased Gasly’s early cushion, yet he briefly lost the place late on and then retook it to secure Alpine’s best Japan result since 2022.
- He has scored points in all three races this season and sits eighth with 15 points, while Alpine holds a narrow fifth over Red Bull in the constructors’ table.
- Alpine credits its early 2026 gains to focusing resources away from 2025 and to extra wind tunnel and CFD time under F1’s testing rules, with further upgrades in the works for Miami.