With Red Bull Racing in the throes of a distinct performance slump, all eyes have turned to Max Verstappen to see what the four-time World Champion potentially does next.

Many pundits feel that a team swap is imminent, and Verstappen has already been linked to the likes of Aston Martin and Mercedes. But could Alpine be a choice?

Is Alpine the forgotten choice for Max Verstappen?

The Formula 1 rumour mill has been abuzz with questions about what’s next for Max Verstappen.

The Dutch driver was launched into the F1 world as a teenager thanks to his ties with Red Bull, but in 2025, the team looks to be a shadow of its former self. Verstappen’s third place in the drivers’ championship standings is a testament to his own skill in wrangling the notoriously difficult RB21, and Bahrain showed just how challenging this season could shape up to be.

Would Verstappen consider a move to a new team? Many pundits have speculated that it could happen, and that there are a few teams he’d be most likely to move to.

At the top of the list are Aston Martin and Mercedes.

At Aston, Verstappen would once again have the ability to work with designer Adrian Newey, and his long association with Honda while at Red Bull could come in handy as Aston takes on the role of Honda’s works team in 2026.

And while Mercedes seems committed to its current slate of drivers for the next few years, a driver like Verstappen would be worth bending over backwards for.

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According to former Formula 1 driver turned pundit Ralf Schumacher, “there will be room for Verstappen everywhere.” But while we’ve all been focusing on the seemingly obvious choices, Schumacher posits that we’re all missing the elephant in the room: Alpine.

“The team that we keep forgetting, but that certainly plays a role in the whole thing… Alpine!” Schumacher stated recently on Backstage Boxengasse, a German motorsport podcast.

“Flavio Briatore has purchased Mercedes engines for his team next year and in the meantime, look at Pierre Gasly last weekend.”

He does have a point. While Alpine kicked off 2024 at the bottom of the charts, the French operation has continued to find speed. Schumacher specifically pointed to Gasly’s seventh-place finish in Bahrain as an example, but that performance uptick was clear in the team’s double podium at the rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix in 2024.

“The car can’t be that bad,” Schumacher said of Alpine’s current challenger, the A525.

“Add to that an extra 30 horsepower from the Mercedes engine… I don’t want to leave that team out of consideration either.”

If would perhaps be a stretch, but Flavio Briatore is known for his ability to negotiate even the most unthinkable deals. Max Verstappen would certainly offer something fascinating to Alpine — but whether or not it becomes a reality remains to be seen.

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