After hitting rock bottom in 2025, Alpine is determined to bounce back. And Pierre Gasly is displaying a confident optimism: the strategic shift towards Mercedes should mark the team's true revival from 2026 onwards. Last in the championship with only 22 points, Alpine endured a disastrous year. But behind the scenes, the conclusion is clear: 2025 was deliberately sacrificed to prepare for the future.
Pierre Gasly They make no secret of it. The team has made a radical, almost brutal, but deliberate choice: to bet everything on the 2026 revolution.
The Mercedes gamble, a historic turning point according to Pierre Gasly
By relinquishing its status as an engine manufacturer, Alpine brought an end to the Viry-Châtillon adventure. A choice long unthinkable, now presented as a liberation.
"The Mercedes engine is in an ideal position for the 2026 regulations.", entrusts Gasley.
The Brixworth engine is seen internally as the absolute benchmark of the new hybrid era. A solid technical foundation upon which Alpine to finally build a coherent project.
This change of engine supplier is not just symbolic. It frees up enormous resources for chassis development.
At Enstone, engineers can now fully concentrate on the two pillars of the future regulations: active aerodynamics and the pursuit of weight reduction. gasly appears confident.
"In terms of drag, thermal management and aerodynamics, we are achieving all our objectives », assures the Frenchman.
The revival ofAlpine It also involves humans. The arrival of Steve Nielsen The management team imposed a long-awaited operational rigor.
Under the impulsion of Flavio Briatore, having returned as executive advisor, a strong decision was taken: to stop the development of the A525 from March 2025.
An immediate sporting sacrifice, but a deliberate strategic investment.
Paradoxically, this last place in the championship offers a major advantage: more wind tunnel hours than any top team.
"This is a huge advantage for getting a head start on the A526 before the others.", highlighted Pierre Gasly.
A rare luxury, which allows Alpine to explore its concepts well ahead of the competition.
Extended until 2028, Pierre Gasly is now the face and driving force of the project. Alongside Franco ColapintoHe assumes a role as technical captain.
The Frenchman also welcomed the end of the era of ground-effect single-seaters, which he considered physically demanding.
"The cars will be more agile, more responsive. That's good news for the drivers.", he slips.
Alpine He has no more excuses.
"From both the chassis and the engine, everything looks good." »Gasly insists.
At the end of January, during the Barcelona tests, the verdict will be in. The roar of the Mercedes V6 in the blue and pink chassis will tell whether this bold gamble finally marks the true return ofAlpine in the foreground.
