The final race in the European triple-header proved to be a challenging outing for us, but we didn’t leave Barcelona empty-handed.

Pierre’s eighth-place finish brought home four valuable World Championship points - scored during an eventful Spanish Grand Prix, watched by a capacity crowd at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Pierre’s strong drive on Sunday ensured we ended this run of three races on a more positive note, despite a challenging weekend for the team. But it wasn’t just on track where things were busy.

Birthday celebrations

In the lead-up to the Spanish Grand Prix, BWT Alpine Formula One Team joined the wider Alpine family in proudly celebrating the brand’s 70th anniversary. Founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé in Dieppe, France, Alpine continues today as an automotive leader in performance and innovation and on the Tuesday before the race, the brand unveiled its first sport fastback. To mark the anniversary, both Pierre and Franco wore bespoke white overalls with red and blue stripes - featuring a specially-designed A70 logo, which also appeared on the A525.

It wasn’t the only birthday being celebrated in Barcelona. On the Tuesday between Monaco and Spain, Franco turned 22 and revealed he’d been enjoying Asado - a traditional Argentinian barbecue - as a birthday treat. He was also presented with a cake by the team on his first day back in the Barcelona paddock.

Down to business

The 2.89-mile Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a venue we know well, thanks to its long-standing presence on the Formula One calendar and its history as a testing ground. Friday’s two practice sessions gave us the opportunity to evaluate new parts on the car, and Pierre was particularly pleased with the performance of the A525. He completed 58 laps in total and finished both sessions inside the top ten.

Pierre carried that strong form into qualifying, comfortably reaching Q3 and setting a lap time good enough for eighth on the grid. We trialled some changes on Saturday morning but reverted to a previous set-up for qualifying - a decision that paid off. At a circuit known for exposing a car’s true performance, the result was an encouraging sign for the team.

Franco, meanwhile, struggled with the car’s balance across Friday’s sessions and was unlucky to suffer a technical issue that forced him to stop on track during his final Q1 run in qualifying. Once the car was returned to the garage, the team identified a driveline issue and replaced the gearbox on the number 43 car ahead of Sunday’s race.

After Friday’s track action, both drivers headed into the city at the wheel of a classic Alpine A110 for a Moser Watch activation. To celebrate the release of two special-edition timepieces, Pierre and Franco helped unveil the Drivers Edition and the Streamliner Alpine Mechanics Edition in partnership with Moser Watches.

A night for champions

It’s no secret that Pierre is a big PSG supporter, and he proudly arrived in the paddock on Sunday morning wearing his team’s jersey. The Parisian side dominated the Champions League final, beating Inter Milan 5–0. Pierre was joined in the celebrations the night before by fellow PSG fan and friend Isack Hadjar.

It wasn’t the only footballing highlight for the F1 duo. In the build-up to the weekend, Pierre delivered a pinpoint cross for Isack to score during an informal kickabout between Les Bleus and Les Roses, with the pink-shirted side claiming an 8 - 2 victory.

There was another occasion when our team wore pink - in honour of our title partner BWT - and headed to Barcelona’s beach. As part of BWT Global’s Best Water Run, over 20 members of our crew took part in this important initiative to raise awareness for clean drinking water around the world.

After a busy few days off track then, attention turned firmly to race day.

A top-10 return

Pierre made a solid start from eighth on the grid and held position at the end of the opening lap. However, just a few laps in, his companion from the previous evening became his rival on track, as he robustly defended his position from his compatriot Isack Hadjar.

Starting on used softs, Pierre made an early pit stop on lap 10 for another set of used softs, with the team executing a slick 2.4-second tyre change. The stop kept him ahead of the Sauber of Nico Hülkenberg, who had pitted the lap before.

Further back, Franco avoided the Turn 1 congestion and stopped for new mediums on lap 14, with a 2.8-second stop. Running a counter-strategy to Pierre, he stopped again for new softs on lap 39, then took on used softs when the Safety Car was deployed on lap 54. Unfortunately, running in traffic for much of the race meant the dirty air compromised his tyres, making progress difficult. He eventually crossed the line to finish in P15.

Pierre’s second stop came on lap 31 - a few laps after being passed by Hadjar - when he switched to new mediums. He was running tenth when the Safety Car was deployed, and the team responded perfectly with another stop for used softs. Pierre gained one place thanks to Kimi Antonelli’s retirement and kept the pressure on to finish just under two seconds behind Hadjar. He was later promoted to eighth after Max Verstappen received his 10-second time penalty.

“We’ll take four points and P8 - it was a hard-fought race,” said Pierre, who celebrated with his poodle Simba afterwards. “We struggled a bit with the tyres, but I’m still very happy to bounce back after Monaco and show some good pace here.

“Thanks to everyone in the team, and to the fans for all your support this weekend. It’s the end of a tough triple-header, and I know it’s been challenging for everyone,” added Pierre. “Now, we need to keep pushing, improve our race pace on Sundays, and keep making small steps each weekend. See you in Montreal!