► We speak to team boss Oliver Oakes
► The team’s rough 2024
► And its chances in 2025
F1 testing is our first glimpse of the new cars and drivers on track, but it’s also the first chance for teams to validate their work over the off-season. It’s not just about overall performance, it’s about making sure the simulations and tools back at base correspond to real life. Every team will have something to prove this year, but that particularly goes for Alpine.
It’s fair to say last season was a mixed bag for the team from Enstone. It’s had success in the past with both Michael Schumacher (’94 and ’95 as Benetton) and Fernando Alonso (’05 and ’06 as Renault) but those halcyon days felt an age away in 2024. The year began catastrophically, with the team scoring just one point after six rounds.
Things were made worse after incidents between the two drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, but that was all forgotten after big upturn in results – culminating in a double podium in Brazil. Now, with new team principal Oliver Oakes at the helm – and support from F1 legend Flavio Briatore – Alpine wants to continue the climb back to winning ways.
‘You could see in the second half of the year, just how much passion there is in the team,’ Oakes, tells CAR at the Alpine’s launch. Taking place in London, it’s a chance to see the new livery before the F1 75 opening ceremony event later that evening. ‘We have some great people and I think that turnaround is a testament to that,’ he says. Oakes joined Alpine last summer but comes with a racing background. He previously founded the Hitech F2 and F3 team and raced in Formula Renault and GP3 before that.
While not as star-studded as the F1 75 event, Alpine’s 2025 launch features some big industry names; Oakes is joined by Briatore – now supporting the team in an executive advisor role – and CEO of Renault Luca De Meo.
Also on stage is a gaggle of drivers: Pierre Gasly is paired with new teammate Jack Doohan, but they’re supported by a trio of reserve drivers; fresh from a stunning half a year at Williams, Franco Colapinto is joined by Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa.
The squad on stage is a very visual reminder of the pressure around F1 drivers, but Oakes believes the quality in and out the car only helps: ‘I think it’s a nice position to be in to have not just Franco, but also Paul and Ryo there to give us options,’ he explains. ‘Having more than one, it does make them be on their toes and raise their game.’
But the drivers are very much at mercy of Alpine’s new racecar. Many teams have kept an eye on 2026 – which will involve big rule changes and opportunities – when developing this year’s car. Others have gone all in for 2025. The new Alpine car represents a balance between the two approaches.
‘Different teams have a different strategy with their resources, with 2026 in mind. I think from us, there’s quite a bit of carryover of the car just because we made that decision very early [last season],’ Oakes admits. ‘But on the first day of testing and the first race, you’ll see quite a bit of development has gone on. In F1 you don’t necessarily see it because it’s under the skin as well.’
The new Ferrari, for example, looks very outwardly different to last year’s car, with an entirely new front suspension system (from pull-rod to push-rod) and very different sidepods among other things. The Red Bull on the other hand, looks similar to its 2024 challenger.
‘We felt as a team, we could deliver [development] and still balance what we’re trying to do for 2026,’ Oakes explains. ‘We do still have a little bit of balancing to do on where we invest, because we aren’t just building for today, we are also building for ’26, ’27 – but that’s part of the fun.
However, most important to Oakes is the trackside performance of the team. In simple terms that’s the race strategy, the preparation of the car and the split-second decisions the pitwall has to make throughout the weekend. Oakes pins the success at the end of 2024 to a big improvement on Alpine’s trackside performance.
‘We need to build a good car, but we need to hit the track and deliver results. And I think some of the results the end of last year were testament to that,’ Oakes tells us. ‘We executed good races in difficult conditions. Everyone talks about Brazil, but Qatar (Gasly P5) and Abu Dhabi (Gasly P7) were fantastic as well.’
When the season does get going, the Enstone team will face stiff competition from the other midfield teams: Williams is now resurgent with James Vowles at the helm and Carlos Sainz in the car, while Racing Bulls, Aston Martin and Haas all come into 2025 with exciting driver line ups. It’ll be tough for Alpine to stay where it is – let alone threaten Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari or Red Bull at the front.
‘We should be there or thereabouts at the front of the midfield. But we know that’s still difficult as well,’ Oakes admits. ‘We’re still carrying quite a few things we wish we had more time, more money in the budget cap to fix, but that’s also the challenge at the moment.
‘We just want to start off where we did last year, and hope we keep closing the gap to the front of the grid.’