Pierre Gasly backs Alpine reset despite 2025 slump

Pierre Gasly insists he remains confident in Alpine’s long-term future despite a disastrous 2025 campaign.

Flavio Briatore, Alpine’s executive advisor and de-facto team boss, confirmed at Zandvoort that the Frenchman’s seat is safe into the new 2026 regulations.

“We put a lot of effort into the 2026 car,” Briatore, 75, 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.”

Gasly, who joined Alpine in 2023, confirmed that the team effectively stopped developing the current car early in the year.

"The last development we had was in Barcelona in May. 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 switch from Renault’s troubled in-house engine to a Mercedes supply next year. “On paper today, the Mercedes engine seems to be the best,” he told Auto Hebdo. “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 argued Alpine’s pace deficit and lack of results in 2025 actually seems much worse than it actually is.

“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.”

And he says morale in Enstone is still intact. “Every weekend we do our best. There are plenty of weekends where we maximise more than what I see in other teams. 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.

"Assuming the Mercedes engine is 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.”