Alpine endured a difficult start to the season as they locked out the back row of the grid in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The French team’s Renault engine was underpowered compared to the rest of the grid, and Pierre Gasly retired in Las Vegas due to a mechanical issue which cost the team points.
Alpine steadily improved over the season despite the unreliability and scored a double podium at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Oliver Oakes, the new team principal, has been a good appointment. Flavio Briatore, who returned as an executive advisor this year, is also helping Alpine to improve.
Briatore was very successful during his stint as a team boss when the outfit were called Renault and led Fernando Alonso to two world championships.
The French team has improved this year since he joined, possibly due to the extra motivation of the staff at Enstone staff to develop the car.
Alpine is now under a ‘regime of fear’ with Flavio Briatore
Alpine have been floundering in the midfield for too long and only had moments of brilliance, such as Esteban Ocon’s win at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021.
These races have only been flashes in the pan, and Alpine have also suffered in the turbo hybrid era with an unreliable engine. The French team will switch to Mercedes power for 2026 as a customer.
Briatore has been successful in his career and could be the right person to lead Alpine to the top in the coming years.
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Michael Schmidt explained that the Alpine employees have extra motivation because Briatore has very little tolerance for errors that hold the team back.
He told the ams.F1 YouTube channel: “With Alpine, it is, of course, more of a regime of fear. Flavio Britatore doesn’t know any relatives.
“He just has success and says, ‘If someone makes a mistake once or twice, he’s out.’ Of course, now everyone is motivated not to get kicked out out of fear. He doesn’t understand anything about technology but has the right approach.”
Alpine improved in the final few races after an upgrade delivered performance at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
This boosted the team in their charge to sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Alpine usurped Haas to finish above the American team and take the position.
Jack Doohan is already under pressure at Alpine ahead of next season
Alpine are heading into next season with Gasly leading the team alongside Australian Jack Doohan, who is being promoted from his role as reserve driver.
He has been embedded in the team for multiple seasons and competed in FP1 sessions to gain more experience behind the wheel in F1.
Bad luck has hindered him in the lead-up to the Australian’s F1 career. Doohan’s 2026 Pirelli tyre test didn’t go to plan, as he suffered from unreliability. Colapinto has also been rumoured to replace him if Alpine’s new driver doesn’t impress.
The 21-year-old was off the pace on his F1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but kept the car on the track to gather valuable data.
Briatore won’t be afraid to drop Doohan if there is a lack of speed, and Colapinto may be an option for Alpine if a decision needs to be made.
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