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Pierre Gasly details 'immense pride' as Alpine navigate first major hurdle
Pierre Gasly has detailed his "immense pride" in Alpine managing to
complete its car for the 2026 Formula 1 season, successfully
navigating a first major hurdle. The new power unit regulations
represent the start of a brand-new era for Alpine, which has
ditched its factory status to become a Mercedes customer outfit. It
is a significant change in how the Enstone-based squad operates,
but one it hopes will result in success. For Gasly, it is the first
regulation change of this magnitude in his F1 career, having
previously never experienced an entire car changing to this extent
from one season to the next. The level of change is something the
Frenchman is very excited about, given the uncertainty surrounding
the season across the entire paddock. Ultimately, the 29-year-old
is incredibly proud of the team for getting its car — the A526 —
ready, with all its milestones having been reached. "This is the
first time in my career where the entire car has had such
significant changes," said Gasly. "Of course, everyone heads into
this unknown territory, but, as a driver, I find that so exciting.
This has been a long road for the team to reach this point. We have
been working hard on the simulator over the past year in
preparation for these new regulations and I know everyone at
Enstone has worked extremely hard to develop the best possible
package. "What we see in the first few weeks of the year, beginning
with the shakedown next week, will be interesting but this is not
the final product as we will continue to learn and develop the
entire package each time we're on track. "I am not setting myself
any expectations. It will be a case of working really hard with the
team to understand areas to improve and we will take it day by day
and just try to be as competitive as we can throughout the year. Of
course, I am excited and optimistic, but very much realistic in my
ambitions. Right now, my feeling is of immense pride that the team
has reached all its milestones in preparing the A526."
