Flavio Briatore has drawn on Red Bull’s early days in Formula 1 as an inspiration for Alpine, as it looks to make an ambitious title challenge in 2027.
The Enstone-based squad has kicked off 2025 in an undesirable fashion, sitting bottom of the Constructors’ Championship with just 11 points, all scored by Pierre Gasly.
Its second seat has also been the subject of controversy, with Jack Doohan being predictably ousted by Franco Colapinto, who has so far struggled in the three of the supposed five races he was being given to prove himself.
And on top of all of that, Oliver Oakes resigned as Team Principal after the Miami Grand Prix, leaving Executive Advisor Briatore to step back into the breach of heading up the pit wall.
However, the eccentric Italian is not short of confidence when it comes to the future, with a vision of title glory the year after next.
Briatore’s streamlining has seen staff reductions and more emphasis on Enstone, with the Renault Viry-Chatillon HQ ditched upon a switch to Mercedes as its new engine supplier for 2026.
With next year’s regulation changes providing an air of mystery as to which team will have cracked the code of how to win, Briatore believes making a play for the championship the year after is not impossible.
‘We’re back in the business, with Alpine,” Briatore told media including Motorsport Week prior to the Spanish Grand Prix. “Not easy because the team has gone through a lot of change, especially in the last four or five years, not only now.
“But little by little, we try to put the team together, the people together. We’re looking for next year as well — for the new engine and the new gearbox from Mercedes-Benz.
“So, this is our goal for next year. In the meantime, we need to be more competitive.”
Briatore drew a comparison from Red Bull’s rise to the top, having made its F1 debut in 2005. After steadily growing from occasional point-scoring midfielders, the team became race-winners in 2009 and champions in 2010.
“We are not competitive for the moment, like I want, but takes time. You see this maestro [Christian Horner] next to me, it takes a lot of time to build a winning car, a winning race, a winning team. I know I’ve done it before. I hope I’ll do it again.”
Alpine ‘needs a dream’ but the right ‘kind of driver’
Briatore doubled down on his ambition, saying that dreaming of success can be a driving force, but admitted that the issues within the team, such as its search for a new permanent Team Principal, is causing issues.
“You need a dream as well, you know,” he said. “When you are in Formula 1, you’re dreaming as well to do the job. You hope. And in this moment, the team is quite new. The team is not performing like I wanted because we still have… a lot of the situation in the team is not clear.
“But we need to clear up everything. Before we start performing like I want, I believe we need all of 2025 now, and we need 2026 to be competitive, to at least sometimes see the podium very close. These are what we’re looking for.”
Briatore made a cryptic comment though, likely in relation to the current second driver situation, about having the right person in the car to ensure success can take place.
“And why not 2027? We see what happened to Red Bull. We see what happened to everybody else. Depends as well on what kind of driver we have in 2027.”
READ MORE – Franco Colapinto explains initial Alpine struggles amid Flavio Briatore unhappiness
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