Flavio Briatore summed up Alpine’s 2025 season with a mix of frustration and determination. The Italian did not hide his disappointment over the campaign, which yielded only 22 points and a huge gap to the rivals. “We are here to win,” he told The Race. “We are not here to be tourists around the world. This situation is very hard for us. I wasn’t used to it. I was used to it 20 years ago, but now every Sunday is torture. Then you see all these people giving their maximum effort, and you don’t get the chance to enjoy the race, to go home with points – it’s very frustrating. I hope this year we will return everything doubled!”
A clever but necessary choice
The weak performance shown by the French team in 2025 has a clear explanation: the decision was made to stop development of the 2025 car early and focus entirely on the 2026 project, which will feature a Mercedes engine.
History has shown examples where such an approach has paid off, but Flavio Briatore admits the sacrifice has been costly. According to him, the Enstone team did not have the capacity to manage two parallel programs: “We don’t have the ability to develop the 2025 car and the 2026 car at the same time. At the start, our car was sixth/fifth. Then, everyone else improved their cars a lot, and we are not where we expected to be. That’s why we took the risk of investing all our effort into the 2026 car,” he concluded.
As we reach the midpoint of the winter break, the countdown to the new car launches and the first private tests is officially on. The big question remains: will Alpine’s high-stakes gamble pay off, or will they find themselves struggling to keep pace with their competitors once the new era begins?
The stakes for Alpine could not be higher as they head into this transition. Flavio Briatore’s return was intended to shake up the system, and by clearing the slate for 2026, he has placed a massive bet on the team’s technical department. If the upcoming Mercedes-powered challenger fails to deliver the turnaround he has promised, the “torture” Flavio Briatore described may only be just beginning. For now, the fans at Enstone can only wait to see if this strategic retreat leads to a genuine resurgence at the front of the grid.
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