When Flavio Briatore returned to the Formula 1 paddock as Alpine’s executive advisor in 2024, the 75-year-old made his intentions clear. Having overseen Enstone’s golden era that delivered Fernando Alonso’s 2005 and 2006 titles, Briatore declared that the French squad should be fighting for race wins by 2026 and mounting a full title challenge in 2027.
Yet this is not the first time the French owned F1 team have set ambitious targets. Renault sold their works F1 team to Genii back in 2010 joining a list of other manufacturers who had left the sport recently. Yet come 2015 and the mood music was changing in the French automakers boardroom, as Haas F1 were set to debut in the sport.
Having endured two seasons of failure supplying engines to Red Bull Racing, the Renault directors decided to buy back the Enstone based racing outfit. Once again Renault was represented as an OEM on the F1 grid and laid out an ambitious five-year roadmap aimed at reclaiming championship glory by 2020.
Renault’s “5 year plan”
Ex-Mercedes director and technical boss, Bob Bell stressed that this timeframe was both realistic and achievable but that ambition, however, stands in stark contrast to Alpine’s current reality at the bottom of the table. The past ten years has seen huge turmoil in the French owned team. They are now on their fourth executive director who is responsible for the F1 project, with Luca de Meo recently being posted elsewhere in the group.
Fred Vasseur was appointed the de facto new team principal in 2016, but he left for pastures new at Sauber at the end of the season. Cyril Abeteboul was next to hold the reigns in Enstone and with solid mid-field results coming the way of the team, he survived until the rebranding exercise for 201. David Brivio was next off the taxi rank and although given the title of Racing Director, he effectively assumed the responsibilities of team principal.
Having been replaced at Aston Martin, Otmar Szafnauer was next to hold the reigns in Enstone, but his tenure was short lived as Renault sacked the American-Romaiinan half way through 2023, with Bruno Famin stepping in to assume responsibilities. Yet the spike nature of there French leader would not see the team progress as hoped.
Acrimony between drivers and team boss
At the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, Famin lambasted his driver, Esteban Ocon, live on French TV after his shunt with team mate Pierre Gasly on the opening lap of the race in the principality. Famin’s claim that Ocon would face “consequences” seemed disproportionate, especially given Gasly had caused a more costly clash in Australia the year before. Ocon’s departure was announced two weeks later, leaving Alpine with another driver headache.
Famin was released of his duties in the summer of 2024 and Oliver Oakes was appointed the new boss becoming the youngest ever F1 team principal. Yet just nine months later he stepped away from his role with Alpine, and with Flavio Briatore accepting the role on top of his “advisory” duties to the Renault board, this completed a circle which saw the flamboyant Italian take charge at Enstone way back in 1985.
The A525 has proven the slowest car on the grid in 2025, leaving the team rooted to the bottom of the standings. For a team that only last year finished sixth, the regression has been dramatic. Whilst personal disputes have been rife within the organisation for years, the true problem for the Renaul owned team in its various guises has been the power unit defect Renault have suffered throughout the V6 hybrid era.
Mercedes “5 year advantage on everyone”
Renault underpowered engine
Renault applied to the FIA to be given dispensation to ‘catch up’ in 2023, but were denied by F1’s governing body. All engine architecture had been frozen in 2022, in an effort to bridge the gap to the delayed new powertrains now due in 2026.
In that light, Alpine’s decision to abandon Renault engines for Mercedes in 2026 looks pragmatic. Since the 2022 regulations began, Renault has been consistently the weakest of the four manufacturers. By adopting Mercedes power, Alpine will at least remove the excuse of being underpowered. Yet questions remain. By shuttering its own engine programme, Alpine risks looking like a customer team rather than a true works project—undermining its stated ambition of becoming a front-runner.
Briatore, for his part, insists progress is being made. “It is a big challenge, as all of our focus is on 2026 and capitalising on the opportunity of the new regulations,” he said after the Belgian Grand Prix. “Now is a critical phase in our work for next year. I know the team at Enstone is making positive headway. I expect everyone to come back from the summer break with determination and fighting spirit. Giving it our all to finish the season as strongly as possible, and make sure we’re ready for 2026.”
Driver line up chaos
Its difficult not to view Renault/Alpine’s travails with a wry smile. All the talk of race wins and titles have disappeared up in smoke. The scoreboard tells of a different reality, one of repeated last place finishes, internal squabbles, and a car so sluggish it might struggle to qualify for a historic F1 race. A Mercedes engine next year will almost definitely help, but an engine alone does not erase years of drift.
And finally, the team is once again in a mess over its drivers. With Jack Doohan awarded the contract for 2026, Briatore’s head was turned by the available Franco Colapinto who he signed over the winter as a reserve driver. Colapinto had impressed early when replacing the hapless Logan Sargeant at Williams. Yet three DNF’s in his final four outings for the Grive based team, saw interest from the likes of Red Bull fall away.
Having awarded Doohan for six race weekends, Briatore had seen enough. He replaced him with Colapinto who is the only one of the current twenty F1 drivers who has failed to score this season. The young Argentinian looks out of his depth and Toto Wolff has confirmed Briatore has been speaking to the Mercedes reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas, about a temporary run with the Alpine team to the end of the season. Four drivers in one season may even be an F1 record in modern times.
The irony is there for all to see: Briatore once masterminded world titles from Enstone with Renault power. Now, under his watch, Alpine abandon that very legacy in search of salvation from their rivals in Brixworth. If Alpine do not deliver on Briatore’s promise, they risk being remembered less for ambition, and for an every increasing number of empty declarations.
Verstappen now explains his silence as Mercedes rumours grew
The Formula 1 paddock is never short on whispers, but few tales have rippled through 2025 quite like the idea that Max Verstappen could trade Red Bull’s wings for Mercedes’ silver arrows.
It started innocently enough. George Russell admitted his own contract talks with Mercedes had been “paused,” fuelling speculation that team boss Toto Wolff was leaving space for Verstappen. Wolff, never one to avoid a headline, confirmed conversations had taken place but played down the likelihood of a move. And just like that, the rumour mill shifted into overdrive. Was Verstappen preparing to jump ship?
For weeks, the Dutchman said nothing, allowing gossip to swell unchecked. And therein lay the intrigue. For a driver who is usually blunt to the point of brusque, Verstappen’s silence felt calculated. Eventually, he has addressed the matter with F1.com. “There’s always other people speaking a lot, while I’m not really talking, because I don’t need to,” he explained. “I don’t need to say anything.” His point was clear: let others chatter, while he focused on the track and his future with Red Bull, to which he is tied until 2028. “It makes no sense anyway, it’s a waste of time. I’m very focused on ’26, to look ahead and make sure we nail the regulations, and that we are competitive from the start.”…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
