Argentine driver Franco Colapinto (Alpine) will continue his preparation for the 2026 Formula 1 season in the coming days, when tests take place in Bahrain. Colapinto comes off a very good week in Barcelona, where he ran on Monday and Wednesday. During these tests, he was able to complete a significant number of laps, which allowed him to gain confidence in his A526. He even finished second on the first day he hit the track and was fourth just two days later. Colapinto's activities will continue from February 11 to 13 at the Bahrain International Circuit, where it is speculated that the tests may also be private, as was the case in Barcelona, due to the lack of reliability of several teams' cars under the new regulations. During these sessions, teams will have the option to split their drivers' activities either by sessions (morning and afternoon) or by distributing the days equally. However, this will not be the end of the preseason, as just a week later, from February 18 to 20, the drivers will be back on track in Bahrain, aiming to finalize details before the first race of the year, which will take place from March 6 to 8 in Australia. Colapinto wants to put behind the difficult 2025 he had in his debut season with Alpine, where he failed to score points in 18 Grands Prix. But for this 2026, the feelings are completely different, as Argentina's Noticias Argentinas agency learned that Alpine has started using the Mercedes engine, which is one of the best if not the best, they have reached the minimum weight and have spent many hours in the wind tunnel to improve aerodynamics. To this must be added that Colapinto had the opportunity to participate in the details of a car's design for the first time, so he will feel much more comfortable in it.
It is expected that, at least in the first Grands Prix, Alpine will be one of the teams that can fight to finish in the points zone.
