TEAM PREVIEW: Will Alpine build on their promising upturn of form in 2025?

Alpine experienced quite a turnaround in fortunes during 2024, going from bringing up the rear at the start of the season to scoring a surprise double podium in the latter stages. Numerous personnel changes also played out in the background – but with things now structurally appearing more settled, can Alpine continue their progression into 2025? Here’s the lowdown on the team ahead of the campaign getting underway…

Drivers for 2025

Jack Doohan #7: Best finish of P15, 1 start
Pierre Gasly #10: 1 Grand Prix win, 5 podiums, 436 points, 154 starts

Following the departure of Esteban Ocon to Haas, Alpine have promoted reserve driver Jack Doohan to their race team. The rookie made his debut at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, crossing the line in 15th place.

Doohan has already faced speculation over his future, however, following the signing of Williams super sub Franco Colapinto as a test and reserve driver for 2025, though Team Principal Oliver Oakes has insisted that the Australian will get a “fair crack” during the season ahead.

On the other side of the garage is Pierre Gasly, entering into his third campaign for Alpine after ending 2024 on a strong run of form that helped the team to secure P6 in the Constructors’ Championship.

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 05: Pierre Gasly of France and Alpine F1 and Jack Doohan — Gasly and Doohan will lead Alpine's charge in 2025

Last season

Things looked pretty bleak for Alpine when the 2024 season got underway; Ocon and Gasly both suffered a Q1 exit during qualifying in Bahrain, resulting in them lining up on the back row of the grid and ending Sunday’s race in a lowly 17th and 18th respectively.

There were further challenges to come during the mid-season, including a collision between the team mates in Monaco, while leadership changes off the track saw Bruno Famin exit as Team Principal and Oakes step into the role as the squad’s third team boss in the space of 18 months.

But positive signs started to emerge as the year progressed, culminating in a remarkable double podium result amid a chaotic Sao Paulo Grand Prix. This haul of points saw the team dramatically leap up the Constructors’ Standings, going from P9 to P6.

While there was another change when Ocon made an early exit with one race to spare – leading to Doohan getting his opportunity in Abu Dhabi – the team held off their rivals in the midfield to secure that sixth place, ending an at times tumultuous season on an optimistic note.

2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Joy for Alpine as Ocon and Gasly seal double podium finish

History

The outfit now known as Alpine formerly went under the guise of Renault, with the manufacturer returning to the sport as a constructor in 2016 – taking over the Lotus squad – after several previous spells in Formula 1 both as a team and an engine supplier.

Each of these roles brought championships to Renault at different stages, from their success as an engine manufacturer for the likes of Williams, Benetton and Red Bull in the 1990s and 2010s through to their back-to-back titles as a constructor with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

Since their rebrand as Alpine in 2021 the team have endured various highs and lows, with their strongest finish to date being P4 in the 2022 Constructors’ standings courtesy of the driver pairing of Alonso and Ocon.

There have also been numerous restructurings along the way, which included the announcement last year that the team will no longer use a works Renault power unit from 2026 and instead will run Mercedes’ engines until at least the end of 2030.

Race winner Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault R26 takes the chequered flag. Formula One World — Alonso and Renault won back-to-back World Championships together in 2005 and 2006

Greatest achievement

As touched on above, Alpine have not quite recaptured Renault’s past title-winning form following the rebrand. But there have still been some standout moments, including that emotional double podium for Ocon and Gasly last season in Sao Paulo.

Perhaps their greatest achievement to date, however, came courtesy of a memorable debut win for Ocon at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Frenchman had initially climbed up to P2 from his P8 grid slot after avoiding multiple incidents that unfolded on Lap 1, with five drivers eliminated in the chaos amid damp conditions.

After an unusual moment where Lewis Hamilton took the race restart on the grid by himself – as the rest of the field dived into the pits for slick tyres – Ocon took the lead when Hamilton pitted a few laps later and kept his cool when faced with pressure from the chasing Mercedes driver later on to score his maiden victory.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - AUGUST 01: Race winner Esteban Ocon of France and Alpine F1 Team celebrates on — Ocon scored a memorable debut victory whilst racing for Alpine at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

One key goal for 2025

With the team seemingly now in a more settled place following those personnel changes in 2024 – which also saw Flavio Briatore return as Executive Advisor – Alpine will be hoping to maintain that sense of stability going forward as they attempt to continue their progression.

Oakes emphasised the importance of this when he stated in the latter stages of last year: “I think the main thing early doors here at Enstone is that the team now has stability. It has two guys who are leading it who are very aligned in where we want to go. I can already see some good things from that.”

Indeed, the squad looked to be in a more positive place towards the end of 2024 in terms of their on-track performance, so much so that Gasly voiced his belief that the Enstone-based outfit had “never looked as strong as during these last final few races”. The upgrades brought by the team appeared effective and doubtless helped in securing that P6 Constructors’ result.

There are clearly still challenges ahead – Gasly has acknowledged that there remains a “big gap” to the teams up front, while Oakes has also called for the team to “produce a better car” – but should Alpine keep that stability in place and continue in the vein that they ended last year, they could well take another step forward in 2025.