Bahrain Grand Prix Race Recap

Having shown encouraging pace during pre-season testing, we returned to Bahrain last weekend and secured our first points of the year with a seventh-place finish. After a brilliant fourth-place on the grid, Pierre delivered a well-executed race to collect six valuable World Championship points - a well-deserved reward for all the hard work over recent months in both Enstone and Viry. Jack also displayed strong race pace and was on course for a top-ten finish until a Safety Car disrupted his strategy.

From the moment the team arrived at the desert venue, there was a real sense of optimism. Despite searing temperatures exceeding 35°C on Friday, the weekend began on a positive note, with Pierre setting the second-fastest time in the first practice session at the Bahrain International Circuit. By the end of the day, both cars had completed a combined 100 laps and run all three tyre compounds on both low and high fuel loads.

"At the end of FP2, we struggled a bit on the soft tyre, so the work that went on overnight - and the discussions and analysis we had with both drivers - was invaluable," reflected Team Principal Oliver Oakes. "It was great to see how open they were and how well they bounced ideas off each other. Their collaboration in the debrief definitely helped us for the rest of the weekend.”

Saturday kicked off with birthday celebrations - and, of course, cake - for Alpine’s Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore. A number of notable figures stopped by our hospitality unit in the Sakhir paddock, including Formula 1 Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali, to wish Flavio a happy 75th. Tanti auguri, Flavio!

We also welcomed a special guest to the garage on Saturday - former England and Liverpool FC legend Steven Gerrard, who spent time chatting with Pierre about all things football. Pierre may have even mentioned PSG’s Champions League semi-final win over Aston Villa earlier in the week...

After another warm FP3 - and a sixth-fastest time for Pierre - there was a growing belief that a strong Qualifying result was possible. Although he struggled with grip in Q1, Pierre unlocked the tyre potential from Q2 onwards. When he crossed the line in Q3, he knew his lap was something special - good enough for fifth on the grid.

“Let’s go boys! Amazing Qualifying. Amazing! Very proud. We’ve turned this around,” Pierre said on team radio. The lap was indeed special - just 0.3s off pole position. Further good news followed: a grid penalty for the Mercedes promoted Pierre to P4.

"This just shows the progress we’ve made as a team compared to 12 months ago in Bahrain, when we were struggling in Qualifying with both cars on the back row,” said Pierre. “It shows how much we’ve improved. It’s a very good day. Super happy for the whole team.”

Jack also had a solid Q1 and produced a decent lap in Q2. However, he later admitted he was a bit too aggressive on his tyre-preparation lap and missed the ideal performance window. He narrowly missed out on Q3 by just 0.058 seconds.

At the start of the race, Pierre held fifth place in the early stages. Starting on soft tyres, he began closing in on the medium-shod Ferrari ahead. On lap 9, he briefly lost a place to Max Verstappen at Turn 1, only to retake the position before Turn 2. It marked the start of a race-long battle between the two. Pierre then pitted for new mediums on lap 10, just a lap after Jack had done the same.

With varying tyre strategies unfolding across the field, the Alpine duo were in a strong position at mid-distance. On lap 26 - just before their second stop - Pierre was running in P5, with Jack also inside the top ten. Both drivers then pitted on lap 28 for hard tyres. Unfortunately, a Safety Car just two laps later benefitted those who had yet to stop.

As a result, Jack was unable to fend off a number of soft-tyred challengers and ultimately finished 14th, also receiving a five-second penalty for track limits after he ran wide on the last lap. Meanwhile, Pierre did a fantastic job holding off Verstappen for many laps before finally yielding P6 at Turn 4 on the final tour.

“Very positive for the whole team to secure our first points of the season,” said Pierre after the race. “There was a lot of pressure to keep Max behind for so many laps but we just ran out of tyres at the end. It was so close, but unfortunately, we couldn’t quite make it.

“At the same time, I think it just shows how good our weekend has been as we are fighting these guys. Looking at last week, we were struggling a lot - Max was winning - and this weekend we were fighting him until the last lap. Hopefully, we can be as competitive next week in Jeddah and score more points.”

Jack added: “It shows the great trajectory we’re on and the progress we’re making with the car. We had two strong stints and were on for a P9 finish, but the timing of the Safety Car really worked against us, especially with others on fresh softs behind us.”

Finally, Oli reflected on the team’s efforts and performance over the Bahrain weekend: “As a team, we should be satisfied to leave Bahrain with our first points of the season. The timing of the Safety Car certainly didn’t help, leaving both cars a bit exposed. And Pierre gave it everything to keep Max behind. Still, in a weekend where it was Flavio’s birthday, it was great to come away with some points!”

The final race in this early-season triple-header takes us to Jeddah on the shores of the Red Sea this weekend.