Carlos Sainz has indicated that an Alpine could have appeared on the front row at Formula 1‘s Bahrain Grand Prix with a Mercedes engine powering the team in 2025.
Alpine’s disappointing opening to the campaign was dispelled last weekend as Pierre Gasly crossed the line in seventh place to put an end to the side’s point-less run.
The Frenchman capitalised on a strong starting position as he out-qualified both McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to line up on the second row.
Gasly’s lap caught Sainz’s attention as the Williams driver, who was over four-tenths back in eighth, revealed that his rival was matching the McLaren in some corners.
Indeed, the Spaniard has contended that Gasly had the potential to end up alongside polesitter Oscar Piastri without Alpine’s drastic straight-line speed disadvantage.
Alpine has been laboured with that burden since an engine freeze was imposed, but that will be eradicated with an impending move to Mercedes power units in 2026.
“I just think [the order] is very track dependent and when you have the whole field in eight-tenths, [things change quickly],” Sainz said via Sky Sports F1.
“It’s clear that we’re going to go to tracks where the Alpine is gonna fly, tracks where the Williams [will fly]. Hopefully, we go to tracks where we are faster.
“What is clear for me is that the Alpine in the corners is impressive.
“I don’t know if you guys have access to GPS data, but they managed to go as quickly as McLaren from Turn 6 to 11, so all this medium-high speed [corners].
“So it’s very, very impressive what they’re able to do.
“This quali lap from Pierre [was impressive]. They complain they have three-tenths [deficit] of engines.
“So if you put them on a Merc engine or a Ferrari engine, you have a car that is in the front row.”
Sainz concerned about Alpine pace
Sainz was unable to convert his top-10 berth into a points return to preserve Williams’ scoring streak as contact with Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull sent him into retirement.
However, with team-mate Alex Albon lagging home in 12th place, Sainz has conceded that the Grove-based squad had no answer to the speed that Alpine possessed.
“Good quali, good start, already a couple of good starts in a row with this car, good attacking first lap, decent pace,” Sainz told media including Motorsport Week.
“But the Alpine was too quick for us this weekend.
“And when you have the top eight cars plus the two Alpines, that’s top 10 positions, and I was there between P11 and P10 fighting for my life.
“But yeah, we were just not quite quick enough.
“But again, first two stints a lot to learn from again, good start, good quali, so we’re in the right trajectory.
“The weekends will come a bit more together hopefully, and, at the same time, we have this little bit to improve on the car to see if we can catch Gasly and [Jack] Doohan with the Alpines.
“This weekend they seem to be on the other league than more than in our league.”
READ MORE – Pierre Gasly hails Alpine 12-month progress to battle Max Verstappen in Bahrain
