Gasly: I have high expectations before the stage in Shanghai.

      Alpine F1 managed to score points already in the first round of the 2026 season – Pierre Gasly finished 10th in Australia. Now the team of the French Renault group hopes to build on this initial success in China, especially since the race weekend program in Shanghai includes a sprint, which theoretically provides additional opportunities.

      Pierre Gasly: “I dedicated one day to analyzing the first race of the season and left Melbourne in a mixed mood, but overall I have good expectations ahead of the Shanghai round, especially since the first sprint of the year will take place there.

      It was really tough in Australia, and to earn that single point, we had to fight hard, but the Sunday race was enjoyable. If we recall where we started the weekend, it’s clear that we made significant progress, and I think this process will continue as we constantly learn and better understand how to get the most out of this new car.

      There is certainly still much to learn, and it seems that some teams have progressed much further than others, so it’s great that we progressed from Friday to Sunday and at least got a small reward by the end of the weekend.

      But I truly believe we could have aimed for more if a number of things had gone our way. We understand that the outcome of the weekend is not good enough, and we know which areas we need to pay special attention to, so starting from Shanghai, we will strive for higher results.

      The Chinese track has an interesting configuration, with many fast corners and hard braking zones. We’ll see what the character of the race will be like there, but I’m glad we made it to China, and I’m ready to give my all.”

      Franco Colapinto: “The race in Melbourne was tough; it wasn’t how we wanted to start the season. From the very beginning, we faced a challenging task, but this will be a lesson for all of us, as the team must stick together in both successful and unsuccessful days.

      At the start, I managed to avoid a serious accident when Liam Lawson’s car slowly moved off the line, but I was able to slip between him and the pit wall. It was a close moment, and I’m glad I reacted quickly and continued the race. I must say, I’m still amazed when I watch the replay of that moment!

      After that, we got a clearer picture of the car's behavior in race configuration and were able to confirm that the A526 has decent potential compared to the competitors' machinery.

      Together with the team, we are preparing for the Shanghai round and will try to continue what we started last weekend. It’s hard to predict how these cars will perform on the Chinese track, especially since we will only have one hour of practice on Friday before the first sprint of the season to figure it out.

      All drivers and their teams will face serious challenges, and we will need the ability to adapt quickly to ensure that our work on the track is as effective as possible from the very beginning of the weekend, as there is a lot to sort out. But I’m very curious to see what we can achieve.”