Have the worst F1 team on the grid just become good?

Alpine

Have the worst F1 team on the grid just become good?

Alpine have gone from last place to fifth in the constructors' standings

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Saturday 30 May 2026 09:57

Alpine were the worst F1 team last season by some distance. Not just disappointing. Not just underwhelming. The worst.

They finished plum last in the constructors’ championship on just 22 points, a full 48 points behind Sauber, who were hardly a midfield superpower themselves.

Even more damning was the fact every single one of those 22 points came from Pierre Gasly. Alpine were slow, fragile, badly balanced and drifting through another miserable season with very little evidence that a quick fix was coming.

So naturally, because F1 makes absolutely no sense, Alpine are now fifth in the championship.

Fifth.

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Alpine suddenly look like a proper F1 team

Alpine are not winning the midfield because everyone else has fallen over (Aston Martin aside). They are now sat on 35 points after five rounds, already 13 clear of their entire 2025 total.

Gasly has 20 points to Franco Colapinto's 15. Last year, the Frenchman was trying to keep the lights on by himself. Now Alpine have two drivers capable of getting into the points when the car gives them half a chance.

Colapinto’s sixth place in Canada was an enormous result, Gasly following him home in eighth turned a good afternoon into a serious statement.

Regular Q3 appearances, enough pace to make rivals uncomfortable and a car that no longer looks like it has wound up in the wrong series - Alpine have nailed their approach to the new regulations.

Franco Colapinto is enjoying a remarkable 2026 season

Gasly and Colapinto offer a platform

Gasly’s quality has never really been the question. He dragged points from last year’s car when there were barely any available. He remains the obvious reference point inside the team.

The difference is that Colapinto is now contributing properly alongside him.

Constructors’ championships are built on two cars, not one driver occasionally producing miracles (see: Red Bull; Verstappen, M. vs Perez, S.). A 20-15 split is exactly the kind of balance a team needs if it wants to stop looking backwards and start annoying the teams ahead.

Aside from the F1 powerhouses of Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren - they are currently the best of the rest, 14 points clear of RB in sixth.

There is still a long way to go before Alpine can be called genuinely strong and fifth place in May does not suddenly erase the dysfunction and false dawns that have followed this team around for years.

But it does suggest the team are no longer a house built on sand.

Alpine upgrades could change the picture again

The next question is whether this is a peak or the start of something more serious.

There are already rumours of a significant upgrade package arriving for Monaco, which would be perfectly timed if Alpine really do believe they can turn this early-season momentum into something sustainable.

Monaco is not always the cleanest test of pure car performance, but it is exactly the kind of weekend where a confident midfield team can make a mess of the accepted order. Qualifying is king and if Alpine can carry on their Q3 push then they have every chance of another respectable points haul.

The easy answer is still caution. Alpine have teased progress before and found new ways to disappoint.

But the standings do not care about reputation. It says Alpine are fifth. It says they have more points after five rounds than they managed across the whole of last season. It says both drivers are scoring regularly.

So have the worst F1 team on the grid just become good? Not good enough to scare the front of course, but good enough to make the midfield very nervous. Bravo.

F1 Alpine Pierre Gasly Franco Colapinto