Franco Colapinto tested Alpine’s aero upgrades in Silverstone filming day after ‘promising’ CFD data

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Alpine took advantage of the break in the 2026 F1 calendar to stage a filming day with Franco Colapinto at Silverstone this Wednesday to verify their aerodynamic upgrades.

The Enstone natives are keen to strengthen their status as one of the leading midfield teams so far this year, following a promising start to the season. Alpine are fifth in the constructors’ standings after the first three rounds and are ahead of Red Bull owing to their better results.

Haas sit just two points clear of Alpine in the fight to be the best midfield team, with 18 and 16 points respectively. Red Bull have also recorded 16 points, but Pierre Gasly finished P6 in China and P7 in Japan for Alpine while Max Verstappen came P6 in Australia but P8 in Japan.

Colapinto has so far only scored one point after finishing the Chinese Grand Prix in P10 in his Alpine A526, while Verstappen retired and Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar scored his only points so far in 2026 with P8. Gasly held Verstappen off for P7 in Japan by a mere 0.337 seconds.

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Alpine used Franco Colapinto to verify their aero upgrades for the Miami Grand Prix

Alpine are now eager to build on their strong start when the 2026 season resumes in Miami on May 1-4, following the break due to the cancellations of the rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. And Alpine chiefs think there is more to gain with the A525’s aerodynamic platform.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Franco Colapinto from F1 stats to height

That is according to Autosport Web, which reports that Colapinto tested Alpine’s latest aero updates during a filming day at Silverstone this Wednesday. The 22-year-old completed the 200km (124m) allowed by the regulations as Alpine verified the data from their simulations.

Alpine’s wind tunnel, CFD and simulator tests had all yielded ‘promising results’, which they wanted to check in real-world conditions before unleashing them in a race weekend. Alpine also utilised the filming day to conduct further tests on utilising their Mercedes power unit.

After the Renault Group closed the French brand’s factory F1 engine programme, Alpine set foot into new territory this year by becoming a Mercedes PU customer. Alpine are still trying to fully understand Mercedes’ engine, owing to changes brought by the 2026 F1 regulations.

It has also been said that Alpine viewed their filming day at Silverstone as a training exercise for Colapinto, given that Gasly has earned 15 of their 16 points to sit eighth in the F1 drivers’ standings. The Argentine ranks in just 16th place after three rounds with his one point so far.

Colapinto is the lowest-ranked driver to have earned a point over the opening three rounds, with Haas’ Esteban Ocon boasting a superior second-best finish to sit in 15th place with one point. Ocon took P11 in Australia and P14 in China before taking his point with P10 in Japan.

Alpine will now want to see Colapinto make full use of their new aero updates at the Miami Grand Prix to help Gasly fend off Haas for the best midfield team status. Colapinto only took P14 in Australia and P16 in Japan, 33.433s behind Gasly, on either side of his P10 in China.