A record-breaking crowd and a double points finish ensured there was plenty to be positive about at Silverstone as we returned to our home race

An incredible 564,000 fans attended this year’s British Grand Prix across the four days, setting a new record for a Formula One event. While the start of the weekend proved challenging for the team, Sunday’s race — itself watched by a sell-out crowd of 175,000 — delivered a strong result for us, as both drivers gained a total of 15 places on track. They came home ninth and tenth and secured our fourth double points finish of the season.

A stone’s throw away

Just 25 miles away, our Enstone base is round the corner from Silverstone and this year we were able to get our race week off to a flying start with a special visitor to the factory. England Rugby star Ellie Kildunne joined us for an in-depth visit to learn all about Formula One. She spent time at the factory with Nina Gademan our F1 Academy racer and met Franco.

Ellie also took part in a Q&A with staff where she discussed Winning Culture, and as the talisman of England Rugby, there was no one better for the team to hear from. Ellie then joined us at Silverstone, where Nina treated her to a passenger lap of the 5.89km circuit, while Pierre and Franco also enjoyed driving the Alpine A110 R on Hot Laps around the historic venue.

Ellie was one of several high-profile guests welcomed by the team at the British GP, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Lisa Hogan. Pierre had paid a visit to Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop ahead of the race, with our local farm providing a selection of locally sourced food, produce and beverages for the team throughout the weekend.

No place like home

Following the short turnaround from Austria, it was straight to the track on Friday morning for the only Free Practice session. With the Sprint format allowing just 60 minutes of practice, we focused on evaluating the upgrades introduced in Austria, trialing different set-ups and fine-tuning the A526. Although there were no new chassis upgrades at Silverstone, both Pierre and Franco took a fresh internal combustion engine as part of the planned cycle of power unit elements.

FP1 saw the team deliberately split its approach. Franco completed 28 laps and finished 11th quickest, while Pierre’s run plan centred on evaluating alternative set-up directions. As a result, his 21st place on the timesheets did not reflect the true pace of the car.

Between FP1 and Sprint Qualifying, Managing Director Steve Nielsen (who celebrated his birthday the day before) represented the team in the FIA Press Conference to discuss, among other things, the morning’s running and Franco’s strong contribution to the team in his second season of F1.

Sprint Qualifying later that afternoon proved encouraging without quite delivering the desired result. Pierre narrowly missed out on SQ3 by just 0.152s and qualified 11th, while Franco finished three places further back. He reported that his car remained unpredictable through Silverstone’s high-speed turns, making it difficult to consistently find the confidence needed to attack the lap.

Another goal off the track

Pierre and Franco received a warm welcome from the huge crowd that gathered outside the paddock gates each day, while on the Fan Forum stage both drivers enjoyed a chance to test their football skills. They also enjoyed their respective nations’ World Cup success, with Franco celebrating Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Cape Verde on Friday evening before Pierre enjoyed France’s knockout win over Paraguay the following night.

Saturday began with the Sprint, where both drivers made excellent starts to gain three positions apiece on the opening lap. However, as the race settled down, it became increasingly difficult to hold onto those gains. Pierre ultimately finished where he had started in P11, with Franco taking the chequered flag one place behind in the 17-lap contest.

There was further frustration in Qualifying later that afternoon. Franco was 19th overall after spinning at high speed through Becketts. Pierre qualified 12th but due to an issue with his radio, he was subsequently handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding another car, meaning he would start the British GP from 15th.

Junior kick-start

Silverstone also provided another opportunity for Alpine Academy drivers to shine, with Formula 2 and F1 Academy both featuring on the support bill. In Formula 2, Alex Dunne lined up second for Sunday’s Feature Race, one place ahead of Kush Maini.

The latter continued his strong form by securing another podium finish in third, while Gabriele Mini narrowly missed out on victory in Saturday’s reverse-grid Sprint after starting from pole position. Second place marked his eighth podium of the season, as he collected 16 points across the weekend.

Meanwhile, Nina Gademan claimed her second F1 Academy podium of the year by finishing second in Saturday’s reverse-grid race. Nina then added fourth place on Sunday, made even more memorable as Ellie Kildunne had the honour of waving the chequered flag, to leave Silverstone third in the championship standings after an impressive weekend.

Drivers’ Parade mayhem

One of the lighter moments of the British Grand Prix came before Sunday’s race as the Formula One drivers took to the circuit in full-size Lego karts. What began as a relaxed parade quickly became an action-packed encounter, quelle surprise, with several drivers ending up stranded in the gravel after they ignored track limits and cut the corner. Pierre and Franco were among those requiring assistance from the marshals to get their machines back on track.

In the Grand Prix, both Alpine drivers enjoyed improved pace on heavier fuel loads and off the start worked their way through the field. After an exciting wheel-to-wheel battle with Pierre into Brooklands — and a lightning-quick reaction save for a snap of oversteer exiting Luffield — Franco settled into an excellent rhythm, gaining positions throughout the 52-lap race.

Pitting on lap 22 for hard tyres before switching to softs under a late Safety Car, he climbed ten places from 19th on the grid to finish ninth. Pierre’s afternoon was equally resilient. Starting 15th after his grid penalty was applied, he recovered five places, despite losing time when a systems fault affected his pit stop. Undeterred, he took the chequered flag in P10 to score the 500th World Championship point of his career.

“Double points at the home race for the team is a good result from where we started the race and the relative performance level we have shown across the weekend,” said Flavio Briatore. “We know we need to keep improving and push hard with bringing new parts to the car. The team is pushing at Enstone, and we all need to pull in the same direction to return to where we were previously to lead the midfield fight.”