Last year Alpine ended the season at the bottom of the Championship Standings, 48 points behind ninth place. Now all the time they spent planning out their 2026 car is paying off, and the team sits fifth currently. However, Racing Bulls also came into this season strong and have only been getting stronger. After the race at Silverstone, the Red Bull sister team is only one point behind Alpine, and the next two Grands Prix will determine who is ahead going into the summer break. Let’s break down how each team has been doing so far, and what’s next for both of them.
Nine races into 2026, and Alpine has racked up a total of 60 points. In the Drivers’ Championship, Pierre Gasly is currently in ninth with 42 points, while his teammate Franco Colapinto sits further back in thirteenth. The Racing Bulls drivers sit in tenth and eleventh, with Liam Lawson looking like the stronger one out of him and his teammate Arvid Lindblad. If you look at this battle between Alpine and Racing Bulls just from a points perspective, you could say Alpine is the stronger team just because they have one more point to their name. However, that’s not always the case. Racing Bulls has been looking rather impressive, with their drivers both scoring points in all of the last four races. In fact, Racing Bulls would actually be ahead of Alpine right now if it weren’t for one key decision in Monaco. Pierre Gasly had been running in third, before a penalty caused him to drop places. After the race his team requested a right of review, and after being approved his penalty was taken back and his podium reinstated. As Racing Bulls is only one point behind, if things had played out differently, they could’ve been sitting in fifth place right about now.
Now let’s talk about the drivers. As a rookie, Arvid Lindblad has certainly impressed. He scored points on his debut in Australia and is consistently matching his more experienced teammate Liam Lawson in terms of pace. Lawson has put together a good showing as well, after coming off the back of a disappointing 2025 season. He put all that behind him, though, and has really shown the team at Racing Bulls what he can do in the right car.
As for Alpine, Pierre Gasly has always been an impressive driver, he just needed a competitive car to show it. Now that he has one, he’s been in the points in seven out of the last nine Grands Prix, and his best result was P3. His teammate Franco Colapinto has had a slightly more difficult time, but he is still making a name for himself, as he’s scored points in five Grands Prix so far this season. His performance has been enough for Flavio Briatore to hint at a new contract for the Argentine that will continue into 2027.
Right now, both Alpine and Racing Bulls are looking evenly matched. However, Racing Bulls drivers Lawson and Lindblad seem to be carrying the momentum needed to secure double points finishes in the next two races before the break. Make sure to keep an eye on this battle, especially since it’s one that will only get more intense as the season continues on.
