Alpine is edging closer to Formula 1's top four teams, Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko has declared, following the French team's standout Bahrain pre-season test pace.
After a dire 2024, Renault's team rallied late last year under Flavio Briatore's guidance.
Netflix's latest Drive To Survive series reveals Carlos Sainz nearly joined them for 2025. "Carlos believes Alpine was not good enough for him and Williams was much better," Briatore, 74, said. "Simple as that. Everybody makes mistakes."
Sainz topped Bahrain's times with a low-fuel run in his new Williams, yet Alpine's new car arguably still stole the spotlight.
"Alpine was pretty strong," ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland. "This team could be a bit of a surprise with (Pierre) Gasly, even if not in every race.
"But if the rules remain stable for so long, then of course everyone will eventually get to the point where they have a competitive car."
Marko echoed the sentiment. "The French were certainly stronger than one might have thought," he told sport.de.
"They used their momentum from last year. Now Alpine is the first team I would put right behind the big four," referring to McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes.
Alpine's three 2025 reserve drivers include Franco Colapinto, on loan from Williams, who'll be on duty for the opening races in Australia and China, putting more pressure on rookie Jack Doohan than he is already under.
"I was quite proud of him being punchy with you all," team boss Oliver Oakes smiled in Bahrain, after the media ranks grilled Doohan about Colapinto. "I actually feel for him, because I get that everybody wants the clickbait and that's a discussion topic. But I think also he should be given a bit of space to just get on with it for a few rounds."
"Flavio said it, didn't he?" Oakes added. "That we're starting the season with Jack and Pierre and then let's see how it all goes. We want the best drivers, we want the best engine. I think we've been really honest as a team as to what we're doing.
"Our target is to continue where we ended up at the end of last year—kind of clipping at the heels of those front teams. Both drivers have been pretty happy with the car." body check tags ::
