Alpine has become the latest team to confirm the launch date for its 2026 Formula 1 challenger as the outfit prepares its new chapter as a Mercedes customer team next season.
Alpine will reveal its new car for the 2026 regulations overhaul on January 23, three days before the first pre-season test kicks off in Barcelona.
2026 is a pivotal year for the Enstone-based team, as it seeks to lift itself out of the doldrums seen in 2025, scoring just 22 points and having abandoned its car development mid-season.
Finishing in last place in the Constructors’ Championship is now guaranteed, the worst season in the team’s 44-year history on the grid in all of its different guises over the years.
Next season sees the team return to being a Mercedes engine customer for the first time since Renault bought the team in 2015, as Renault bows out of F1 after the Abu Dhabi finale.
The radical change is expected to lead to a modest performance increase, given Renault’s well-documented power-unit deficit compared with rivals Mercedes, Honda and Ferrari.
Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto will continue at Alpine into its new era, hoping for a vast improvement over the nadir performances in 2025.
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