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Alpine left Montreal with their most complete result of the 2026 Formula 1 season, securing 12 points through a double-points finish that reinforced their grip on fifth place in the Constructors' Championship. Franco Colapinto delivered a career-best sixth, while Pierre Gasly recovered from 14th on the grid to claim eighth after an intense closing-lap battle — a result that spoke as much to the team's resilience as to the chaotic nature of the race itself.
With Arvid Lindblad failing to start, Colapinto found himself heading the midfield pack and held the position throughout what proved to be a treacherous afternoon in Montreal. The conditions were unforgiving from the outset, and the Argentine was among those caught out by the difficulty of managing tyre temperatures in the early stages — particularly on a harder compound than those around him.
The most dramatic moment of Colapinto's race came during his pit stop, when he clipped the wall on the exit. "I hit a wet patch, then went on the white line and drifted towards the wall. Thankfully I hit the wall side on and got away with a small amount of damage, which didn't require repairs or impact the performance," he explained. Remarkably, the incident did not cost him any pace or position, and he held firm to the flag.
Colapinto was candid about the circumstances that contributed to the result but made no apologies for capitalising on the opportunities that presented themselves. "We know we benefitted from others' misfortune, and it's never a nice feeling to benefit from their issues, but we maximised everything we could and brought the car home," he said.
For the 21-year-old, P6 represented a significant personal milestone. "It's also my best result in Formula One, which makes me very happy and builds on the performance we showed in Miami," he added, pointing to a trajectory that Alpine will be eager to continue. His conclusion, however, was characteristically measured: "There's still more we need to do to be more competitive, bring more performance to the car and get closer to those ahead of us on merit."
For Gasly, the weekend had been laced with difficulty well before lights out on Sunday. Alpine had burned their first curfew exception of 2026 for late-night setup work on his A526, accepting a pit lane start for the Sprint as a consequence. By the time the Grand Prix came around, the Frenchman found himself starting from 14th — a position that demanded an assertive and disciplined drive.
The race began on cold Medium tyres that offered little early grip, making the opening phase difficult. "We had a tough start on the Mediums which were quite cold and low grip to begin with but in the end we made some positions back," Gasly said. He fought methodically through the field before a gripping late-race duel with Liam Lawson ultimately came down to fractions of a second, with Gasly narrowly missing out on seventh.
"It was tough to find anywhere to overtake him and we just could not get by, so we had to settle for P8," he admitted, though his overall assessment of the team's performance remained positive. "Overall, it's a really good team result and strong points for the Championship."
Yet Gasly was equally clear-eyed about the work that lies ahead. "In general, though, I have struggled with the car again and, as a team, we need to see why that is and aim to fix a few areas. There is a lot of work ahead of us to get the car into a good place again," he said, before turning his attention to a race he hopes will offer a better platform. "I am looking forward to Monaco now. It is my favourite place of the year so hopefully we can fix some of these limitations and go there with more confidence and more performance."
From above the garage, Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore offered a tempered but satisfied verdict on the weekend. "Congratulations to the entire team on this result where we have scored 12 points. We executed a good strategy, the drivers did an excellent job on track and we now extend our advantage in P5 in the Constructors' Championship," he said.
Briatore acknowledged that Friday had been a difficult day, but credited the team's ability to regroup and understand the car's behaviour over the remainder of the weekend. He was particularly pleased for Colapinto. "I am happy for Franco for his best ever finish in Formula One in P6, so well done to him for his effort. On Pierre's side, it is a good recovery from P14 on the grid."
His outlook toward Monaco was, however, rooted in pragmatism rather than celebration. "There is a lot of hard work ahead if we are to improve our competitiveness. The drivers still share similar feedback on the car and there is much more performance for us to find going into Monaco next time," Briatore warned — a reminder that a strong weekend in Montreal has not masked the deeper challenges still facing the A526.
For now, Alpine leave Canada with 12 championship points, a double-points finish, and a clear sense of what still needs to be done before the season resumes on the streets of the principality.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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