126 replies to this topic

[PitViperRacing]

Bonjour mes amis fans d'Alpine, welcome to the 2025 Alpine Team / Technical thread.

I think Alpine is likely to finish 6th or 7th this year, with eyes fully focused on 2026. Hopefully Doohan impresses and can hold onto his seat.

What are everyone's expectations/hopes for this season?

[Viryfan]

Best case scenario is a head to head between vatious midfield leaders in several 1 car teams which enables Alpine to get P5 in WCC.

I don't think they are that focused on 2026, rumour has it they promised a 10 000£ bonus for each Enstone employee if they get P5 at WCC.

[Amz964]

Hope for P5 this year. Think will be unrealistic to aim any higher.

Jack is under a lot of pressure already with the constant rumours before the season has started. Hope he can perform.

[LolaB0860]

Another season of averageness is the best they can hope for.

[Beri]

With Gasly having to do the heavy lifting, it will be difficult to aim for P5. Considering there are driver parings who should perform better. P6/P7 would be the place for Alpine I think.

[KWSN - DSM]

I rate Gasly and think he in the right car can be a top 10 driver in 2025, Doohan is a big question mark, it does not feel as if he is going to be anything special.

[danmills]

I don't think Doohan will finish the full season and suspect Flavio already has a list of drivers he plans to parachute in on trial.

 

If P5 is reachable and Doohan is compromising it, I can forsee them calling a Mercedes favour and getting Bottas in to bag some solid unspectacular drives and points with a straight Mercedes link and a potential 2026 drive at Enstone.

 

What Alpine need is an non political inert driver under zero pressure to surpass the weird team politics and dynamic.

 

Bottas is ideal.

Edited by danmills, 07 January 2025 - 09:37.

[KWSN - DSM]

If Doohan does get replceed it will not be by Bottas.

[KWSN - DSM]

I feel bad about already condemning Doohan.

[danmills]

Doohan was a panic consequential signing, let's be honest, and its an open secret that he's not in their long term plans. If he gets a second season anywhere I will be very shocked.

 

They're not gonna just replace him with another rookie aa first choice if he's out, not with the 2026 engine that's coming, this team is fragile and constantly on a knife edge.. 

 

Who else is left right now? They need an experienced or safe set of gloves to bring home points immediately. Ricciardo and Kmag are not gonna happen given the history.

 

Out of Zhou and Bottas, it's Bottas.

 

Carry the car with high hopes of performance improvement in 2026 and the 2027 seats, suddenly available, are attractive and contract free.

 

Perez is tied to RB otherwise I'd have said he was a contender just like Yuki if he suddenly falls foul of RB and the Aston avenue Honda link is closed.

Edited by danmills, 07 January 2025 - 11:46.

[BRG]

Are you Bottas's agent now?  You seem intent on trying to place him in any seat that is or conceivably might be, open.

 

If and when Apine decide to dish Doohan, there are several far more exciting possible names to be chosen, long before you get to the bottom of the barrel where Bottas and Ricciardo have sunk.  Alpine have Gasly, a safe and experienced pair of hands, so can afford to take a (very small) chance on one of the promising newer drivers.

Edited by BRG, 07 January 2025 - 11:50.

[Anja]

It's not like they didn't have any other options, Doohan was always said to be their second choice after Sainz. If they wanted Bottas they could've signed him then. 

[ATM]

În a normal market, that would have been a 100% correct explanation and we could have left it at that. However, given that Briatore is în charge, and apparently he's Doohan's manager no less, I feel there's more than meets the eye here. With Flavio, it always is.

[Laptom]

Will Alpine already move to Mercedes powerunits for 2025, or start from 2026 on forward?

[PitViperRacing]

Will Alpine already move to Mercedes powerunits for 2025, or start from 2026 on forward?

2026. This year is the last with a Renault engine.

[Viryfan]

So all Renault branding will be removed from the car as of now it seems.

It will be replaced by a promo for the R5 Turbo 3E.

Which is quite weird as they putting on the market the A290.

[danmills]

Are you Bottas's agent now?  You seem intent on trying to place him in any seat that is or conceivably might be, open.

 

If and when Apine decide to dish Doohan, there are several far more exciting possible names to be chosen, long before you get to the bottom of the barrel where Bottas and Ricciardo have sunk.  Alpine have Gasly, a safe and experienced pair of hands, so can afford to take a (very small) chance on one of the promising newer drivers.

 

He's the official Mercedes third driver for 2025 and beyond.

 

The way teams operate and share these days, if any of Mclaren or Mercedes have an illness he will be their point of call. And so too Alpine next year.

 

You don't need to be an agent to reach that conclusion.

 

And with a Mercedes engine coming in 2026, you can bet Bottas' simulator knowledge is going to be very useful to both Mercedes and effectively Alpine if he can correlate that data through a drive, essentially Alpine being a test bed.

 

It makes far too much sense for late 2025/26.

 

Predictions aren't illegal, certainly less so the logical ones.

Edited by danmills, 07 January 2025 - 22:34.

[messy]

Ricciardo sunk to the bottom of the barrel through years of underperformance against his team-mates, Bottas apparently sunk to the bottom through driving a sh*tbox and thrashing his team-mate in it. I do feel sorry for Bottas losing his place on the grid and think he represents an appealing alternative for any team who might need/want to switch drivers in season.

That said I also feel sorry for Doohan, but if they don't really want him in honesty I don't see the point of even starting the season with him. Not saying its fair, but starting the season with a driver they're looking for an excuse to dump is just no good for anybody.

Edited by messy, 08 January 2025 - 08:54.

[danmills]

Hopefully he has a great first few races.

 

What were the alleged rumours again on Doohan? That he has a 6 race performance clause or something before its reassessed? I think that was where the whole 'he won't last the season' stemmed from.

[flingsofdeon]

Franco Colapinto’s dad put a post on his social media at the end of last week alluding to the fact that there are only a few in the know on 2025 - hinting something is happening re him being on the grid next year. He deleted the post quickly. Only presume this could be Alpine if anything.

[KWSN - DSM]

Colapinto is Icarus.

[ATM]

Boy oh boy, if ever there was an ugly duckling, Doohan is it. Nobody seems to cheer for him in his own team. I hope he has a stellar start of the season, just to see his detractors butter him up.

[Frood]

Even more confusingly, Alpine's other reserve driver alongside Aron will be... Ryo Hirakawa?

 

Toyota now have a link-up with Hitech, so it makes a little bit of sense.

Edited by Frood, 09 January 2025 - 10:19.

[Disgrace]

I too have a reserve driver contract role at Alpine for 2025.

[LolaB0860]

Perez is tied to RB otherwise I'd have said he was a contender just like Yuki if he suddenly falls foul of RB and the Aston avenue Honda link is closed.

Perez is not gonna be contender for anything anymore, except for like a Latifi pay seat at Williams or Haas

Bottas apparently sunk to the bottom through driving a sh*tbox and thrashing his team-mate in it.

Trashed Zhou so brilliantly that Zhou started beating him by the end of the season

[messy]

Trashed Zhou so brilliantly that Zhou started beating him by the end of the season

He was the better of the two over the season by miles, and comfortably the stronger over three seasons as team mates. You know that.

[BRG]

I too have a reserve driver contract role at Alpine for 2025.

I am the Alpine reserve driver.  And so's my wife.

[Red5ive]

Hope Doohan does well - doesnt look like he is being treated particularly well by his new team.

[JL14]

Hope Doohan does well - doesnt look like he is being treated particularly well by his new team.

 

From what was said last year by journalists about Doohan, he is very well liked within the team. So to me it looks more a Briatore - and maybe Oakes (Doohan raced for HiTech in the 2019 F3 Asian series) - thing.

[RedRabbit]

Surprised it's not mentioned already, but Franco Colapinto has signed a multi year deal with Alpine.

Fully expect the first 6 races are a contractual obligation to Doohan and after that we'll see Franco in the car. That's a win for both Alpine and Franco honestly.

Alpine may have not lived up to full potential, however they're still a team that's capable of stealing podiums and odd wins, something Williams hasn't done in 10 years.

[messy]

I’ve listened to a couple of podcasts about the Colapinto signing and they’re all like ‘this might just be a race seat for 2026 and Doohan has it in his own hands to keep the seat’ which amazes me because I feel it’s completely blatantly obvious that he’s been signed to race in 2025 once they’ve either honoured their commitment to run Doohan or agreed to pay him off. Are they being naive or having to be careful what they say?

[JL14]

I’ve listened to a couple of podcasts about the Colapinto signing and they’re all like ‘this might just be a race seat for 2026 and Doohan has it in his own hands to keep the seat’ which amazes me because I feel it’s completely blatantly obvious that he’s been signed to race in 2025 once they’ve either honoured their commitment to run Doohan or agreed to pay him off. Are they being naive or having to be careful what they say?

If Doohan performs it's quite a bad look to bin him off....

[kumo7]

It is more and more likely that Hayakawa will be doing close to 'very little' for Alpine team. I kinda question if this is a right carrier path for Hayakawa.

Could he, for example more to HAAS to do some testing and reserve role business... what do you think?

I mean Alpine, as is, will use other pones and Lukes foe the future games...
 

[RedRabbit]

If Doohan performs it's quite a bad look to bin him off....

Is there any indication he will? His debut in 24 isn't anything to go on, driving Ocon's spare parts car held together with duct tape and wood glue, lol.

[messy]

If Doohan performs it's quite a bad look to bin him off....

I feel like Alpine might quite easily be able to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Edited by messy, 13 January 2025 - 21:17.

[teejay]

Rumblings say it's a 5 year deal for Colapinto? If so, Doohan may as well keep a very light locker at HQ because he'll be clearing it out soon. 

[KWSN - DSM]

It make absolutely NO sense.

[Brawn BGP 001]

5-year-contract seems crazy for a driver who only did 9 GPs and had a mixed spell, if true I guess it must have get out clauses on both sides.

Edited by Brawn BGP 001, 14 January 2025 - 03:18.

[kumo7]

Rumblings say it's a 5 year deal for Colapinto? If so, Doohan may as well keep a very light locker at HQ because he'll be clearing it out soon. 

 

Might happen that Flav and Colapinto has 5 year deal. 

[JL14]

5-year-contract seems crazy for a driver who only did 9 GPs and had a mixed spell, if true I guess it must have get out clauses on both sides.

María Catarineu:

- It's a 5-year loan to Alpine, after which Williams can call him back.

- During those 5 years, Alpine has the 'rights' to Colapinto. Also to sell/let him go to another team.

- She questions whether anything is being paid to Williams

[FirstnameLastname]

Briatore to do a ‘button 2001’ on Colapinto?

[JL14]

Confirmed that this Colapinto thing is all just a Flavio obsession.

Colapinto manager reveals inside story of deal with Alpine

“It took a long time because negotiations are sometimes complex, as in this case. But Flavio was always very persistent and in the last few weeks he was very intense,” she told Argentine online news site Infobae.

“The agreement came about because both parties got what they wanted – Flavio was able to sign Franco and [Williams boss] James [Vowles] was able to give him the chance to race, because at Williams their regular drivers are on long-term contracts.”

Briatore’s fascination with Colapinto began almost immediately after the rookie’s debut. After a solid performance against seasoned driver Alex Albon, Briatore set his sights firmly on acquiring his services.

“Briatore has seen Franco since he made his F1 debut,” Catarineu said. “The day we first chatted, he said: ‘I’ve seen talent, and I want him.’

“He followed all the races closely and how he evolved as an F1 driver in the nine Grands Prix he was able to race.”

Catarineu even disclosed that Briatore’s obsession went so far as to suggest taking on a managerial role for Colapinto himself, though this ultimately did not happen.

“It’s the best thing for everyone that Jamie [Campbell-Walter] and I are still in charge of Franco and more on a day-to-day basis,” she added.

“Obviously Flavio will be aware of everything that happens. This is teamwork.”

[rootten]

Why do you call in obsession? I think that's one of the aspects of his job

[JL14]

Flavio Briatore leaks 2025 Alpine livery on Instagram Stories

 

 

 

 

[PitViperRacing]

The blue and pink is just awful. Only way to make it workable is to do the miami vice colours with alot of black.

To go from the best livery on the grid in 2021 to one of the worst has been horrible.

[baddog]

Flavio is dreaming of doing an Alonso with Colapinto.

 

Whether Franco is up to being Fernando, and Alpine up to being Renault, and whether Flavio is wildly overestimating himself remains to be seen.

[KWSN - DSM]

If Flavio see anything special in Colapinto, Flavio is deluded. 

[rootten]

If Flavio see anything special in Colapinto, Flavio is deluded. 

 

cool, no arguments given, just hate

[FirstnameLastname]

Shrewd marketing move from flav and the marketing team there. Get a mini buzz while showing nothing

[PayasYouRace]

Brabham vibes.