Gasly: Alpine confirms difficult season comes to an end – The 2025 Formula 1 season has been a challenging time for Alpine. The French team, once considered strong contenders for at least some points, has struggled to find pace and consistency throughout the year. Despite the efforts of drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, the team was unable to achieve the results needed to improve its position in the constructors’ championship standings.
With just a few races remaining, Alpine has publicly acknowledged that the season has effectively come to an end. The team will finish tenth in the constructors’ championship, a position they have accepted regardless of what Gasly and Colapinto might achieve in the final events.
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Persistent struggles on the track
Alpine’s difficulties in 2025 were rooted in technical and strategic challenges. The team struggled with ongoing issues in car development, which hindered the drivers’ ability to compete at the front. Gasly, who has previously demonstrated strong performances, was often hindered by the car’s limitations, and Colapinto also struggled to achieve competitive results, especially considering his rookie status.
The result was a season marked by inconsistency and frustration. Even when the team showed glimpses of competitiveness, such as at the São Paulo Grand Prix where Gasly scored two points, these were exceptions rather than the norm.
Steve Nielsen on the team’s position: It’s the end…
Alpine’s managing director, Steve Nielsen, addressed the situation candidly in comments reported by NextGen-Auto. He explained that the team had accepted the reality of finishing last in the constructors’ championship.
“We are approaching the last three events of the calendar with a bit of positivity, as we were more competitive and efficient in São Paulo, where Pierre was able to score two points,” Nielsen said. “The season has been long and sometimes challenging for the team, as we have had to balance competing with designing a completely new car. This has impacted our efforts in 2025, and obviously we are not fighting for satisfactory results.”
He emphasised that, although the outcome of the season is disappointing, the team is using the remaining races to demonstrate its capabilities and gather valuable experience.
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Focus on the Remaining Races
Looking ahead to the final three races of the season, Alpine is determined to finish as strongly as possible, even though there is no prospect of climbing the championship standings.
“We won’t know the consequences of these choices until Melbourne next year, but for now, we’re focused on the track to finish this season as well as possible,” said Nielsen.
He added: “Even though we seem to be heading for tenth (and last) place in the championship, a reality we accept, we’ll still give it our all to try and finish in the points in the next three races, like in São Paulo. This will also be a test for the whole team, who will have the opportunity to demonstrate their excellence in all areas, even without achieving a significant result.”
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Preparing for the Future
Although 2025 has been a season of setbacks, Alpine is already looking ahead to next year. The lessons learned from this season’s struggles will play a crucial role in shaping the development of the 2026 car and the team’s overall strategy. For Alpine as a whole, the priorities are maintaining cohesion, strengthening technical capabilities and preparing for a more competitive future. The only way now is up for the former Renault works team.
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NEXT ARTICLE: Christian Horner meets F1 CEO and Zak Brown in an F1 return bid
Christian Horner has been silent since his dismissal as the CEO and team principal of the Red Bull Racing team, yet rumours persist over his return to the sport. Behind Frank Williams who was the team boss for Williams for some 43 years, Horner’s night on 20 year tenure at the helm in Milton Keynes makes him the second longest serving F1 team boss in history.
He was brutally deposed from his role at Red Bull just days after the British Grand Prix by the new Austrian director at the helm of the parent company following the death of billionaire entrepreneur Didi Mateschitz.
There have been persistent rumours over where Horner might appear and he has been heavily linked in the Italian media with the poisoned chalice role as the boss of the dysfunctional Ferrari outfit. The furore surrounding the former Red Bull boss replacing Fred Vasseur that Ferrari chairman John Elkann was forced to issue a public statement at the recent US Grand Prix giving his beleaguered team boss a vote of confidence.
Horner remains linked with Alpine
Yet Christian Horner is said to be eyeing up an opportunity to return to the sport with an equity stake in a team, something Red Bull never offered and neither would Ferrari. This has led to a number of teams being forced to deny they are in talks with Horner, most specifically the Haas F1 outfit.
Alpine remain a potential home for the former Red Bull boss given Renault’s uncertain handling of the future of the Enstone based team. Further, Flavio Briatore who has been recruited by the executives in Paris to restore the fortunes if the once title winning outfit has a deep friendship with Horner and recent sales of equity in the team suggest Horner could fulfil his ambitions with Alpine.
Christian Horner had a contract with Red Bull which ran until the conclusion of 2030 which meant his payout was significant. Some reports have suggested it was as much as $100m although others claim he agreed a discounted sum to ensure his gardening leave was just nine months.
Italian publication FunoAnalisiTecnica now claims the former Red Bull boss has recently met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to discuss the possibility of creating a new 12th team from scratch. The last time F1 had 12 teams on the grid was in 2012 and the Concorde Agreement does provide for this scenario to be repeated…READ MORE ON THIS ARTICLE
Thiago Treze is a Brazilian motorsport writer at TJ13 with a background in sports journalism and broadcast media, alongside an academic foundation in engineering with a focus on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This combination of technical knowledge and editorial experience allows Thiago to approach Formula 1 from both a performance and narrative perspective.
At TJ13, Treze covers driver performance, career developments, and key storylines across the Formula 1 grid, while also analysing the technical factors that influence competitiveness. This includes aerodynamic development trends, simulation-driven design approaches, and the engineering decisions that shape race weekend outcomes.
His reporting bridges the gap between human performance and machine development, helping readers understand how driver execution and technical innovation interact in modern Formula 1. Coverage often connects on-track events with the underlying engineering philosophies that define each team’s approach.
With a global perspective shaped by both journalism and technical study, Thiago also focuses on Formula 1’s international reach and the different ways the sport is experienced across regions.
Treze has a particular interest in how Computational Fluid Dynamics and aerodynamic modelling contribute to car performance, offering accessible explanations of complex technical concepts within Formula 1.
