Franco Colapinto has confirmed car gremlins for Alpine after the Argentinian spent a significant part of the first day of the Formula 1 Bahrain test stuck in the garage.
Entering his first full season with Alpine in 2026, Colapinto aimed to take full advantage of pre-season testing, a luxury unafforded to him last season.
But his first day in Bahrain got off to the worst possible start as he ground to a halt in the morning session, leaving his Alpine stranded on track.
The car was quickly retrieved, and he returned to the track again later in the day, though he and Alpine lost valuable on track data as a result of the stoppage.
Colaptinto admitted the new A526 has gremlins that will need to be addressed for the rest of the test.
“We had some problems with the car in the morning,” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.
Yeah, I didn’t do any laps, well. It’s part of testing, you know, and it’s part of new cars, and it’s new car things, so we are learning all together, and hopefully, you know, we can learn from those and just not let it be a pain.”
Positivity in the face of adversity for Franco Colapinto
Colapinto confirmed however that the issues were not caused by new engine partner Mercedes, though did not elaborate on what the issues might be: “No, it’s just car problemsl, we’ve had some issues,” he said.
Despite the setback, Colapinto is hopeful of a better year ahead for Alpine, which finished bottom of the Constructors’ championship for the first time in its history.
“There are many things that changed,” he said of the ongoing work at the team.
I think the car looks in a decent place. Of course, having the same power unit as three teams, it does help a lot to have that data.
“Being able to not only be yourself with the same PU, but having comparisons and having a lot more data, especially on the rear-eyes.
” Hopefully all that helps and we can make a step.”
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