SEPTEMBER 5, 2025
Gasly secure as Alpine bets everything on 2026
Pierre Gasly says he is optimistic about Alpine's future, despite enduring a torrid 2025 season at the back of the grid.
© Alpine
Last week at Zandvoort, Alpine's executive advisor and de-facto team boss Flavio Briatore made clear that the Frenchman's seat is guaranteed into Formula 1's new rules era.
We put a lot of effort into the 2026 car,
Briatore admitted. "Maybe we made a mistake by not having any steps from the beginning of the season to now, and we pay for that now.
We hope to forget this year and be happy in 2026,
the 75-year-old added. I hope as well that the new chairman of Renault is very supportive.
Gasly, who joined Alpine in 2023, told Auto Hebdo that his confidence comes from the scale of the 2026 project. We must be the team to have stopped development the earliest,
he explained. "The last development we had was in Barcelona in May. The development of the car was stopped at the end of February, March.
After that, everything was focused on 2026. The fact that we find ourselves in last place in the championship also gives us more wind tunnel time.
The 29-year-old also welcomed the decision to abandon Renault's in-house power unit in favour of a customer Mercedes supply. On paper today, the Mercedes engine seems to be the best,
he said.
Then, there's what I see at the factory. The staff we have, the people we've recruited. There are explanations for the lack of performance this year.
Gasly believes Alpine's current deficit is actually not so dire. If we were two seconds behind, it would worry me, but today we see that within two tenths of a second, I am seventh on the grid,
he pointed out.
He also insists morale inside the Enstone operations remains intact. I have to say I'm really happy with what I see in the team,
said Gasly. "Every weekend we do our best. I think in terms of exploitation, there are plenty of weekends where we maximise more than what I see in other teams.
"The end result is not there, but for reasons we are able to explain.
I'm not saying we're going to end up with the best car for next year. But I know there's a lot of progress being made, and again, assuming that for now the Mercedes engine seems to be the best, and in terms of the chassis, we know what needs to be improved, I think we should be in a much better situation than we are today.
(GMM)