Pierre Gasly ‘accepts defeat’ as Alpine nears unwanted Formula 1 record

At the top of the grid, McLaren clearly dominates, with Ferrari occasionally challenging or Max Verstappen pulling off a spectacular stunt. The midfield battle is exciting—except for one team: Alpine.

Alpine has had a difficult season so far. The car has failed to progress, leaving the team anchored at the bottom of the standings. Of the mere twenty points Alpine has scored in the first half of the Formula 1 season, all come from Pierre Gasly. His teammates, Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto, have yet to register a single point.

Haas ranks third with a slight lead of 15 points over Alpine, but confidence to climb higher in the order does not seem to exist anymore this year. Gasly explains to GPblog, among other media, what the situation is.

"The reality of it is the car has been the same since Barcelona and will remain the same until the end of the year. On one side, you've got to be objective and realistic on what's achievable. Steve [Nielsen] will arrive in September, and I think his impact and his work will be mainly seen in 2026 and beyond. Honestly, Steve's got to focus on next year. We know all the work that we are putting into 2026."

Pierre Gasly

Satisfaction despite last place in F1 standings

Gasly continues to have confidence in Alpine, despite the fact that he has practically written off the season. "We are pleased with what we are doing and the evolution. I'm confident. I believe in the team and the fact that they'll be able to give me a competitive car next year. The reality of it is this season, this is what we have, and it's going to be extremely difficult to change the position that we are in."

"It doesn't mean we are doing a bad job at the track or back at the factory. We just haven't been able to produce a car, in a season where the midfield is extremely tight."

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Advantage for the F1 season 2026?

Overtaking Haas or others? He doesn't really believe in that anymore. Gasly seems to be satisfied with the last place in 2025. "With the decisions we've made for '26," he said, possibly referring to the switch to a Mercedes engine and saying goodbye to the Renault power source. "We haven't been able to provide enough performance to fight for better than that."

He is at peace with it. "Which is fine because at the end of the day, whether you finish ninth or eighth or tenth in the championship, you're still fighting for nothing pretty much. But if it gives you a car that can fight for race wins, podiums, top five next season, I'll take that every day of the week."

In any instance the Alpine team ends the 2025 season in last place on the Constructors' standings, it will be the first time since the 1985 season the Enstone outfit finishes at the bottom of the standings.