Can Alpine Ace Keep Up His Hot Start to 2026 in Miami?
Pierre Gasly’s start to the 2026 season is turning heads. The 2020 Italian Grand Prix winner has put in consistently impressive performances. He’s been able to catapult himself to eighth place in the driver’s standings, right in front of four-time champion Max Verstappen. It was Gasly’s seventh-place finish in Japan after a successful defense against a charging Verstappen that put the spotlight on his rise up the order, making him one of the standout stories of the new 2026 regulations.
Only five drivers have scored in all three grands prix this year, and Pierre Gasly is one of them. This feat stands out even more, given that the rest of the list is occupied by Ferrari and Mercedes duos driving much stronger machinery. With Franco Colapinto’s performances in the other car as a reference point, Gasly appears to be extracting far more than expected from the A526. Colapinto has been outqualified in every race, including the sprint qualifying session in China, and the gap is not small. Gasly also leads on race results, signaling that France’s number 10 is consistently maximizing what is possible with his car.
As teams like Red Bull and McLaren continue to adapt to the new regulations, the competition for points finishes will become more challenging for Gasly. The 30-year-old’s 10th-place finish at the season-opener in Australia was aided by Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar’s respective misfortunes. Red Bull will hope to end their nightmare of midfield battles and re-enter the group of front-running teams. With a well-established Big Four at the head of the grid, only a couple of points-scoring positions will remain for the likes of Gasly. This is before considering factors such as Oliver Bearman’s early success with Haas, and a competitive Racing Bulls team not far behind.
Gasly will look to continue maximizing his points haul when racing returns for the Miami Grand Prix. While finishing outside of the points would take away attention from Alpine man’s hot start to the season, it should not be the only indicator of success in his current machinery. Gasly has been consistently quick for several seasons now. Still, his understanding of the new regulations has helped him string together impressive results that could raise his profile enough to get another shot in a car capable of adding to his trophy cabinet. If Alpine can efficiently utilize its Mercedes power unit and keep up in the development battle, Miami could be an opportunity to continue the points-scoring streak.
