Racing Bulls hold a 32-point advantage over Alpine in the battle for fifth in the 2026 Constructors’ Championship, with six rounds remaining and COTA next on the schedule.

The gap grows after a decisive triple-header across Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and Singapore. Racing Bulls bank 23 points; Alpine fail to score, despite competitive pace.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto insist the fight remains open. The A526 car often qualifies ahead of the VCARB 03, but race-day tyre management and execution blunt returns.

That contrast is stark in Baku, where a collision between Colapinto and Gasly costs Alpine valuable points. Racing Bulls weather comparable intra-team contact better between Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson.

Singapore compounds Alpine’s troubles with a double non-score. The team spends days back at Enstone and Viry dissecting stint traces, tyre life, and strategy triggers to restore race performance.

Colapinto urges a reset. He notes Alpine’s Saturdays are consistently strong, yet insists Sunday pace is present too, citing competitive runs in Baku and Madrid in demanding, high-temperature conditions.

Gasly points to repeated Q3 appearances, including across recent Grands Prix and multiple Sprints, as proof the baseline is sound. The shortfall comes from race execution and specific calls.

Sepang underlines that theme, where Alpine choose the wrong tyre at a key moment. That, plus incidents and misfortune, allows Racing Bulls to maximise returns without headline pace superiority.

Strategically, Alpine must extend tyre life in traffic and protect against thermal degradation in hotter stints. That requires tighter pit windows, cleaner out-laps, and firmer prioritisation of track position.

For Racing Bulls, operational sharpness and a stable line-up remain assets. Their momentum in the midfield, coupled with clarity over the driver decision and a coherent 2027 project, keeps them consistently harvesting points.

COTA now tests Alpine’s fixes. The fast first sector and heavy braking zones stress rear stability and tyre temperatures, two areas that punish any setup compromise over a race stint.

Gasly leans on precedent. Alpine’s 2024 Interlagos surge shows the midfield remains volatile; a well-executed weekend in mixed conditions can erase a deficit quickly.

The equation is simple. Alpine must convert qualifying strength into points with clean weekends and decisive strategy. Racing Bulls need only maintain discipline to defend fifth place.

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Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.