As the new executive advisor at Alpine, Flavio Briatore is trusted with overseeing the team’s new direction. After a series of managerial changes, the 74-year-old is working to provide a clear identify at the Enstone-based team. There are several outstanding issues for Alpine to address, but Briatore is confident about the future.
Alpine to prioritise performance over driver line-up
For the last three seasons, Alpine have consistently been at the centre of driver market speculation.
Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri, and now Esteban Ocon have left the French squad since the beginning of 2022. A combination of mismanagement and poor performance led to the team’s relations with all three drivers eventually deteriorating.
The replacement for Ocon is still unannounced, although Jack Doohan is widely expected to be offered a contract.
However, for Flavio Briatore, driver line-up is no longer the priority:
“For me in this moment [the priority] is just the performance of the car,” he said on the Formula For Success Podcast.
“You know, it’s just working the restructuring the team completely. If you have a good car, you need a good driver.
“If the car is not performing at this point, in this moment, I want to make sure we put all the energy in the technical side.
“And make sure the car at Alpine is looking better and improving for next year.
“And 2026, I believe, is when we see the new Alpine.”
Briatore aims for stability in the short-term
After a sequence of turbulent years, a period of relative calm could be much-needed for Alpine.
The French squad have previously failed to meet their own expectations, finding themselves eternally in the midfield and unable to fight at the front.
Perhaps most concerningly, teams who were previously fighting Alpine in the midfield (i.e. McLaren) are now well ahead.
However, their poor performance this season has put aside any ambitions of fighting at the front (for the time being). Instead, Alpine will look to steady the ship next year before all eyes turn to the 2026 regulations.
Considering that Alpine are seriously considering a switch to Mercedes engines, the team could undergo very fundamental changes over the next two years.
Ultimately, time will tell if Flavio Briatore can rectify the situation at Enstone.
