Johnny Herbert predicts chaotic Formula 1 team to have a ‘very, very tough’ 2026 season

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Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert has been looking ahead to the start of the 2026 season and already has concerns about one team on the grid.

The 2026 campaign will see the introduction of a brand new set of F1 regulations.

Last year saw the 10 teams in the paddock put in varying amounts of time and resources into their first post-ground effect car, which had a sizeable impact on results.

The countdown is on — which 2026 challenger are you most excited to see? 👀

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Red Bull continued working on their 2025 car far longer than many of their rivals, while Ferrari admitted ending development in April to try and give Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a head start.

Many of the teams towards the back of the grid last year saw the upcoming ruleset changes as an opportunity to leapfrog their rivals and halted production on their 2025 car as quickly as possible.

Alpine were in that category and ultimately finished last in the constructors’ championship.

Johnny Herbert, speaking to Damon Hill, has cast doubt on whether Flavio Briatore’s team will be competitive in 2026, even though they barely concentrated on the previous campaign.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Johnny Herbert thinks ‘chaos’ Alpine team will have a ‘very, very tough’ 2026 F1 season

Previewing the 2026 season on the Stay on Track Podcast, Herbert said: “I think the one that’s really going to be finding things tough is Alpine.

“I think Alpine are in a real big rut at the moment.

“It’s the aerodynamics. It’s the whole package of it. And you’ve got to be able to have the right ingredients for the battery to work with the electrification to work with the combustion, but then you need the right aerodynamics.

“We’ve got all the technology with the active wings as well that are going to come into play.

“So there’s a hell of a lot of new things that are coming in, and they’re not coming off a particularly what I would say strong last couple of years.

“It’s been chaos! Now, how do you twist chaos into positivity?”

Hill replied: “You get a Mercedes power unit. That helps for a start!”

Herbert continued: “Yeah, but it doesn’t fix everything. It may be very useful, but I think there are more fundamental issues.

“It’s all those little ingredients that are going to make it, I think, very, very tough for them.”

READ MORE: Who is Alpine’s F1 executive adviser, Flavio Briatore? Everything to know

Alpine could be left in limbo as Christian Horner interest might dominate 2026 season

Alpine will hope switching to Mercedes power units gives them a much-needed boost this season.

Renault’s engine caused a problem for the previous generation of Alpine cars throughout the last ruleset and was underpowered compared to its rivals.

However, Alpine will at least have the same base as Mercedes, McLaren and Williams to work from, but then, as Herbert suggests, it’s the work around the engine that’s going to be under scrutiny.

Alpine hasn’t had any steady leadership for a long time, with team principals being switched in and out on an almost annual basis.

Christian Horner is looking to invest in Alpine, and alongside a partial team ownership role, he would likely install himself in a team principal role as well.

Horner grew Red Bull from a midfield outfit to world champions very quickly, and while Renault could veto a sale, they would surely want to experiment with that potential progression.

What they’ve been doing over the past few years hasn’t been working, and the combination of Mercedes engines and the arrival of Horner could be just what Alpine needs.