After a miserable start to the season, Alpine’s COTA upgrades brought the A524 to life. Executive advisor Flavio Briatore believes the team is making the necessary changes to climb the field.
Alpine “three year” timeline for F1 success revealed
Given how Alpine began the 2024 campaign, outscoring Haas to clinch 6th in the standings is an admirable recovery.
Having eliminated the A524’s excess weight and brought some aerodynamic updates, the team made a big step forward.
However, 6th place certainly isn’t a stand-out result for Alpine in the grand scheme of things.
Considering they defeated McLaren for 4th in the constructors just two years ago, Alpine’s inability to become a top team is a clear limitation.
Flavio Briatore, appointed as part of the team’s new management, has been given the authority to make whatever decisions he deems necessary to climb the field.
Briatore was pleased with how Alpine finished the year, revealing his expectations for the future:
“I want to congratulate everybody,” he said in one of Alpine’s social media posts.
“Because it is the team spirit – this is what I want.
“I promised to Luca de Meo to put [together] a winning team in three years or whatever.
“We [need] to stay together strong, have a few more people with experience in the team – but the team is better.
“I like the team, the racing team is changing completely, [in] the pit-stops we are competitive – this is what I want… We are producing a quick car.”
READ MORE: Haas “on the edge” due to limited personnel
Still plenty for Alpine to prove
From the outside, a lot of the instability that characterised Alpine in previous seasons continued in 2024.
Esteban Ocon’s awkward and abrupt departure before the Abu Dhabi GP was the latest undesirable chapter in Enstone’s driver management.
Reports of Briatore’s interest in Franco Colapinto, despite dying down in recent weeks, were legitimate.
The fact that Alpine were in talks with Colapinto, having confirmed Doohan’s promotion in the summer, created another element of uncertainty around the team.
As the likes of Sauber and Williams look to progress, Alpine face an intense battle in next year’s midfield battle.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the team’s ability to make tangible progress up the pecking order will be tested once more.
