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Tag: AlpineFormulaOneTeam

  • 2024 Season Review – Alpine

    The gift that kept on giving

    For a large part of the 2024 season Alpine were the gift that kept on giving. A poor start to the season led to early team changes which would continue at other parts of the season and would also include a driver change for the last race of the season. The team would eventually finish 6th in the Constructors, a position that largely flattered and was mainly thanks to a large points haul from the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix. Let’s look in further detail.

    The Team

    After the team finished bottom of the pile in the first race the sword was wielded for the first time. Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamic Dirk de Beer were the two names to bite the bullet. Shortly after Advisor Bob Bell announced he was leaving to link up with Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin. By the time we got to May, Flavio Briatore, who used to run the team during its Renault days until the Crash Gate saga was installed back into the team as Special Advisor.

    This was a great move in my opinion, Briatore doesn’t suffer any fools and will not be afraid to do what he needs to, to sort out the team.

    Fast forward a couple of months and it was announced that Ocon would not be retained for 2025 and during the Belgium Grand Prix, it was announced that Team Principal Bruno Famin would leave the team with immediate effect.

    The team also announced that for the 2026 season they would not be producing their own engine and would instead become a customer of Mercedes, slightly embarrassing for a manufacturer backed by Renault to admit the engines they produce are not up to the job. I would like to think this is only temporary while they look to rebuild and start from scratch at within the engine department.

    The Drivers

    Alpine started the 2024 season with Pierre Gasly and Estaban Ocon and they ended the season with Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan. There were some questions about the line up back in 2023 as it was well reported that Gasly and Ocon, despite being childhood friends no longer got on. Ocon also seems to have a bit of a history with falling out with his teammate. It happened when he drove for Force India and again at Alpine with Fernando Alonso. That relationship went very sour after initially being quite friendly between the two. Sparks started to fly, after the two made contact in Monaco, however after a 5-place grid penalty by the time they got to Canada, Ocon had taken the blame for the incident.

    Gasly and Ocon, were however the first pairing to claim the team’s first double podium under the Alpine name. They benefited by being in the right place in the right time after a series of unfortunate events at the Brazilian Grand Prix led both drivers to finish 2nd & 3rd. This leaped the team from 9th to 6th in the championship standings.

    Ocon was released of his contract after his DNF in Qatar and was replaced by Jack Doohan for the final race.

    For 2025….

    Doohan will partner Gasly at least for the start of 2025. Alpine however have signed Colapinto as their reserve driver. Colapinto impressed for Williams after he replaced Logan Sargeant. I think there are altera motives for Alpine signing him and unless Doohan is a close match to Gasly, he could be out of a drive sooner rather than later. On a whole though they have to do better than last season, technically the team (as Renault) are former World Champions and they have to start at least pushing to be the best of the midfield and cannot rely on lucky one off results.

    2024 Season Rating 3/10

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  • Colapinto to Alpine

    The Background

    Rumours circulated for a while that Franco Colapinto was going to land himself a last-minute grid slot for the 2025 season. He impressed in his short stint at Williams when he replaced Logan Sargeant, this despite smashing the car to bits on several occasions. It was announced Thursday 9th January that he would be leaving Williams and joining Alpine, not for a race seat however but as reserve driver.

    It might seem like a strange decision to go from Williams’ reserve driver to Alpine’s reserve driver, however I think there is more at play here. Let me explain.

    Firstly, Alpine appointed Flavio Briatore as “Executive Advisor of the Formula One Team”. Basically, he is the Team Principle in all but name. Briatore has been out of F1 since the crash gate scandal, he returned in 2024 to the team where he was Team Principle for many years. He runs a tight ship, doesn’t take any crap from anyone and is not afraid to wield the sword if needs be. If people think Helmut Marko is ruthless, Briatore eats him for breakfast.

    Secondly, Alpine have made a gamble this season by making Jack Doohan their second driver. Whilst Jack has impressed in F2, that does not mean he will be able to cut it in F1. We only need to look at Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant, who both did reasonably well in F2 but then really struggled in F1. Alpine also have Pierre Gasly in the other seat, it’s a big year for Gasly, I will explain more in a minute, but he is up against an Alpine junior driver who will almost very much be the “favoured son”.

    The Future

    What I think has been done here is a shrewd move by Briatore and I think that Colapinto has signed with a guaranteed race seat for 2026. Why else move? You must imagine that from Williams’ point of view it is highly unlikely that in 2026 they will not have Albon or Sainz driving their cars. So, If my theory is correct, who loses their seat at Alpine? Colapinto is also now in a great spot for this season, should Doohan not meet expectations and struggle significantly, we could well see Colapinto in that race seat after the summer break. This is also why I think this is a massive yea for Gasly. If Doohan outperforms him, Gasly could well find himself without a seat for 2026. Personally, I think Briatore is planning on a Colapinto/ Doohan lineup for 2026. Watch this space and let’s see how the season pans out.

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