Alpine finally had something to smile about last weekend in Bahrain, as Pierre Gasly finished seventh and gave the team their first points of the season. After a tough start to the year with no results, this was a big step forward.

The French driver had already impressed during qualifying in Bahrain, where he started fourth on the grid, even ahead of big names like Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

His strong lap caught the eye of Carlos Sainz, who now drives for Williams. “This quali lap from Pierre was very impressive,” Sainz told Sky TV.

“They complain they have three-tenths [deficit] of engine. So if you put them on a Merc engine or a Ferrari engine, you have a car that is in the front row.”

Sainz said he was especially surprised by how fast the Alpine was in the corners. “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,” he said.

“All these medium-high speed corners, it’s very, very impressive what they’re able to do.”

Alpine has struggled with straight-line speed because of the engine. The team uses Renault power units, which are seen as less powerful than Mercedes or Ferrari engines. But because of the engine freeze, they aren’t allowed to change or improve it until 2026, when they will transition to Mercedes power units. Sainz believes this is the only thing holding the team back.

“You can see that the car is very good in the corners. But in the straights, they lose time. That’s the difference,” Sainz added.

This result also shows how much Alpine has changed since over just a year. At the start of last season, the team was near the back of the grid and didn’t score any points. The car was slow, and nothing seemed to work well.

After that, Alpine made a lot of changes. Some people in the management left, and new people came in to help fix the problems. The team worked hard to make the car better, changing things like the aerodynamics and how the car handles in corners. One year later, they are no longer last and can even start races near the front.