Among the Formula 1 teams that decided very early in 2025 to halt the development of their cars is Alpine. After an extremely difficult start to the season, the French team chose to sacrifice an entire year in order to be as prepared as possible for 2026, when the new technical regulations will completely reshape the cars.
This decision, however, resulted in a disastrous season for the Enstone-based squad, which finished last in the Constructors’ Championship. An unexpected outcome, but one that has not dampened the determination of the French manufacturer to roll up its sleeves and attempt to climb back up the grid, perhaps following the same path Williams has managed to take over the course of this very season.
Steve Nielsen, Alpine’s managing director, has clearly outlined the team’s objectives for 2026. The goal is not to fight for race wins, but to compete at the very front of the midfield, something Williams managed to achieve in just a couple of seasons following the arrival of James Vowles at the helm.
“I want to race every weekend to score points, but I don’t think we managed to do that this year. We had a few weekends where we were racing to get points and we did get them, but too often we were at the back, and that’s not where this team belongs, it’s not where Enstone traditionally belongs, it’s not what Alpine wants and it’s not what we want. So we need to be racing in the upper part of the midfield to score points every weekend,” Nielsen said.
To achieve this, Alpine has clearly understood that sacrificing the 2025 season was necessary. Nielsen himself has made no secret of this strategic choice, explaining without too many words what the scenario envisioned at Enstone looks like, also considering how much rival teams were still developing their cars until just a few weeks ago.
“We hope that stopping the development of the 2025 car early can pay dividends in 2026,” Nielsen explained.
“When I see Haas, who have done a very good job this year, bringing new upgrades to Austin, I think two things: ‘Wow, that’s going to make them better’. But then the positive feeling for us is linked to the fact that they haven’t put their 2026 car in the wind tunnel to continue developing the 2025 car, and that gives me a bit of confidence in thinking that we will be at least as competitive as them next year. Hopefully even more,” he added.
What gives Nielsen confidence is the fact that Alpine began preparing its wind tunnel for the 2026 car well ahead of some of its rivals. It is a complex and time-consuming process, but one that, if started early enough, can deliver significant advantages.
“We’ve made changes to the wind tunnel, it’s a slow iteration process, thousands of different tests iterating towards the right solutions. The earlier you start finding the balance, the earlier you make progress. Starting these processes late should be, I hope, something that penalises them. But as I said in Bahrain, next year when we all do the long runs and do the calculations, then we’ll see,” Nielsen concluded.
Like Williams before them, Alpine knows recovery takes time—but with clear goals and strategic choices, 2026 could be the foundation for sustained progress.
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