Alpine’s General Manager, Steve Nielsen, has identified what he considers to be the main weakness of the team’s 2026 car: marked high-speed understeer.
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Despite a promising debut with the A526 – already at the level of Red Bull Racing in terms of points after three races – the Enstone team still needs to correct a major flaw.
“We have high-speed understeer issues that we need to fix, Nielsen explained. Quick changes of direction are probably the car’s biggest weakness this year. We knew Sector 1 would be tricky here, and that was confirmed.”
A well-targeted weak point
This phenomenon was notably observed at the Japanese Grand Prix, but also earlier in the season, revealing a structural limit in fast phases. The rest of the package remains competitive. Long runs and high fuel load conditions are considered satisfactory, placing Alpine in the fight for the top of the midfield against teams like Haas or Racing Bulls.
The performances of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto – 16 points combined – confirm the progress made, helped in particular by the switch to the Mercedes engine.
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This high-speed understeer is now a priority development focus. If it is corrected, it could allow Alpine to take another step forward and get closer to the top teams.
A key development focus
In a context where every team is progressing rapidly under this new regulatory cycle, Alpine’s ability to resolve this weak point will largely determine its ability to establish itself long-term in the hierarchy.
Gasly notably points out tricky race behavior from his A526: “The car was a bit tricky, I wasn’t as comfortable as in qualifying. I was struggling in the fast corners, which is one of our current limits. With better balance, there would already be a way to close some of that gap on race pace.”
The Frenchman remains optimistic about the direction taken: “We know what we need to improve, and that’s positive. We don’t have to worry about the engine; we have the best available right now. We just need to focus on the chassis and our work. I think we have a good base, we just need to improve it.”
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