7 Minutes
Alpine’s turbulent 2025: a season in crisis
The first half of the 2025 Formula 1 season has been a harsh reality check for Alpine. Once three-time Constructors' Champions, the team heads into the summer break languishing at the bottom of the standings and the only outfit yet to reach 30 points. Pierre Gasly has been Alpine’s single bright spot, extracting the maximum from a car suffering persistent grip issues and delivering all of the team’s championship points. His teammates, Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto, have not matched that return, leaving Alpine staring at tough decisions for the second half of 2025 and the key 2026 driver market.
Where Franco Colapinto stands
Colapinto arrived at the top level with momentum after an impressive nine-race cameo at Williams in 2024, which included two points finishes and an eighth place in Baku. That stint earned him a multi-year contract with Alpine and the reserve driver role heading into 2025. With Doohan failing to hold onto his seat, Colapinto was handed an opportunity to prove he could be Alpine’s long-term second driver alongside Gasly.
Since returning to race duty at Imola, however, Colapinto has struggled. He has not scored points across eight races and has occasionally made costly errors that have frustrated team management. Even a crash during tyre testing at the Hungaroring hasn’t necessarily sealed his fate — Alpine appears to be keeping him on through the summer break to see whether he can turn his form around. PlanetF1 reports that his retention for the remainder of 2025 depends on improved on-track performance.
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Technical picture: Alpine’s car, specifications and performance challenges
Alpine’s problems are not purely driver-related. The A524-style package has shown symptomatic grip and balance issues that have limited race pace. While modern Formula 1 cars all share a broadly similar technical foundation — 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid power units, sophisticated ERS systems, ground-effect aerodynamics, and Pirelli tyre constraints — small differences in chassis setup, aero efficiency, and suspension tuning can create significant performance gaps.
Aerodynamics and chassis
Alpine’s aerodynamic concept has struggled to generate consistent downforce across different track types. That inconsistency translates into unpredictable balance and tyre degradation, putting drivers in a reactive rather than proactive setup window.
Power unit and the 2026 switch
A major strategic change looms: Alpine will switch to Mercedes customer power units in 2026, abandoning Renault-supplied engines. That engine change shapes Alpine’s future performance envelope — and influences which drivers are attractive based on their experience with Mercedes hardware.
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Tyres, grip and race strategy
Persistent grip problems have aggravated tyre wear and complicated pit strategy. Alpine’s engineers have had to balance short-run qualifying pace with long-run race stability, often compromising in both areas. Improved setup work and a clearer aerodynamic direction are critical to unlocking better race results.
Who’s in the running for the 2026 seat?
Alpine’s choice for a partner to Pierre Gasly will reflect both immediate needs and long-term strategy. Candidates on the radar include established veterans, reserve drivers with meaningful testing miles, and talented youngsters rising through Formula 2.
Valtteri Bottas — the plug-and-play option
Bottas remains a leading contender. He brings proven F1 experience and an intimate understanding of the Mercedes power unit — a valuable asset as Alpine transitions to Mercedes engines. His ability to offer consistent feedback and jump into a car with minimal acclimatisation makes him an obvious short-term solution.
Felipe Drugovich and other reserve drivers
Aston Martin’s reserve, Felipe Drugovich, has accumulated thousands of testing miles and carries commercial backing from Brazil. Like Bottas, he is sometimes linked to other teams (including Cadillac), but Drugovich’s track time and maturity make him a sensible middle ground between experience and upside.
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Young talents: F2 graduates and academy prospects
If Alpine elects to prioritise youth, the team will likely recruit from Formula 2. Leonardo Fornaroli, an Italian F2 championship leader, is one name commonly mentioned: young, fast, and not bound to any major driver academy — a free agent for Alpine to sign. Other prospects include Mick Schumacher (if he returns from endurance racing), and fellow junior Paul Aron, depending on form and availability.
Other nameplates: Tsunoda, Zhou, and Perez rumours
Yuki Tsunoda could be a wild-card if he parts ways with the Red Bull family; his Honda ties complicate the picture given Alpine’s forthcoming Mercedes relationship. Zhou Guanyu brings Chinese backing and experience from Enstone’s academy, and Sergio Perez’s name has circulated, although recent reports suggest he may be close to confirming another seat elsewhere (Cadillac), which would remove him from Alpine’s market.
Market positioning and comparison with rivals
Alpine must weigh short-term stability versus long-term development. Signing a veteran like Bottas or Drugovich would prioritise reliability and seamless integration with a Mercedes PU, while landing a promising F2 driver could accelerate Alpine’s rebuild with a young talent who grows alongside the team’s aero and chassis programme. Compared with rivals such as Mercedes and Ferrari, Alpine’s brand positioning — sporty, youthful and performance-focused — might tilt the choice toward a young, marketable talent, but results pressure may force a conservative pick.
What Colapinto needs to do
Colapinto knows the blueprint: deliver consistent, point-scoring results and minimise errors. The summer break offers time to reset, analyse telemetry, and refine setup work. If he can extract stronger qualifying pace, manage tyres effectively, and demonstrate racecraft under pressure, Alpine may keep faith with their Argentine prospect into 2026. F1, however, is unforgiving — two 13th-place finishes won’t secure a seat if the underlying performance doesn’t improve.
Conclusion: a high-stakes second half and a pivotal driver market
Alpine’s second-seat saga is a microcosm of the wider performance challenge the team faces. The switch to Mercedes power units in 2026, combined with an urgent need to fix grip and aerodynamic balance, means Alpine must make smart short- and long-term decisions. Franco Colapinto has the talent and the chance to prove himself — but he must deliver results quickly. If he fails to do so, Alpine will have a crowded shortlist of seasoned pros and promising youngsters ready to step into a car that, with the right upgrades, could soon be more competitive in the evolving F1 landscape.

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