Pierre Gasly has lauded acting Team Principal Flavio Briatore for bringing his long-term vision for the Alpine Formula 1 team come to life.
The Anglo-French marque has made a strong start to F1’s latest era.
Five rounds into the 2026 campaign, the team is in fifth with 35 points – already 13 points up on their points tally through the 24 races run in 2025, placing them last in the standings.
Naturally, off the back of this solid run, Gasly, when asked by Motorsport Week on Media day on Thursday, feels vindicated for having etched his fate with the team after signing a two-year-deal with Alpine, last year.
“I still remember last year sitting here in front of you asking about the future with the team and a lot of doubts from a lot of people,” he said.
“When I look back, I could see all the progress behind closed doors at the factory, the mentality, the processes we were putting in place.
“It was a tough ‘25 but I think it definitely proved to be positive for the start of our campaign this year. I think there is a great positive atmosphere happening in Enstone. There’s a lot of attraction from people.”
The former Red Bull junior driver cited Alpine’s upcoming title sponsorship with fashion giants Gucci to emphasise how the team’s good fortunes on track are not a coincidence, neither are they going unseen.
“There’s been quite a big news I think last week the way the team is going to be named,” he added.
“It just shows that there is something positive happening around the team. I always believed in this.”
Pierre Gasly believes Flavio Briatore has “set the tone” for Alpine’s F1 success
Last time out at Montreal, the Alpine duo of Gasly and Franco Colapinto wrapped up a solid double points finish.
That said, Gasly is aware that the A526 still has a long way to go – especially if it wants to meet the lofty standards that the Frenchman has set up for Alpine after the summer break.
“It’s a long-term project and still not at the level I want us to be at but I do believe we can still make steep learning and very steep progress over the next few months,” Gasly conceded.
The 30-year-old also credited Briatore – who picked up the reigns of the team from Oliver Oakes, last May – for ‘setting the tone’ for Alpine’s future success.
“I am happier. I sleep better at night and I have slightly less nightmares probably. The car is more competitive and there is no secret that when people work hard, they want to be rewarded for it at every level,” he explained.
“Engineers, mechanics, people working in the team in all different departments; as drivers. I think Flavio [Briatore]’s leadership is great and set the tone for the entire team. We always have to question what we do, what we do well and what we have to improve.
“I think we have the right mindset. We managed to score points with both cars last week. Overall, there is a lot of green flags but we still have to work out how to do even better.”
Up next for Gasly are the narrow and twisty streets of Monaco. The Frenchman’s best result at the Principality was a P5 finish he secured with Red Bull back in 2019.
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