Welcome back to Part 2 of Alpine’s Nightmare.
It’s been a week, and… not much has changed. No major statements. No real answers. Just more questions, and more of the same confusion that’s come to define this team. Last week, I covered Oliver Oakes’ sudden resignation and the quick-fire promotion of Franco Colapinto over Jack Doohan. I also touched on Flavio Briatore’s return, a name that still makes people raise their eyebrows, and the revolving door of team principals Alpine has cycled through in the past few years.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what’s going on with their driver line-up, and why it’s not just a mess, but a mess that’s been years in the making.
On May 7th, 2025, Alpine announced that Jack Doohan would be stepping aside, and reserve driver Franco Colapinto would be taking his seat for the next five races. The reaction wasn’t shock that it happened, it was shock that it happened this soon. Six races into the season is hardly enough time for any rookie to find their feet. Between learning the car, managing the media, adjusting to the pace of an F1 calendar, and competing at the highest level, it’s a lot. And while Colapinto has fans and brings valuable backing, comparing his performance directly to Doohan’s doesn’t tell the full story.
Colapinto had more track time last year. He tested more. He raced on similar circuits in F2. That experience matters, especially when you’re only giving your other driver six races to make an impression.
Was Doohan underperforming? Maybe. But was it enough to justify pulling him this quickly? That’s less clear. What makes it even murkier is that Doohan’s manager is Flavio Briatore. Yep. The same Flavio now acting as team principal. You can draw your own conclusions there.
And it’s not just Doohan vs. Colapinto. Alpine’s whole driver situation has been unstable for years. Let’s rewind. They had Fernando Alonso, an all-time great, and somehow managed to lose him to Aston Martin. Then came Esteban Ocon, whose long-standing rivalry with Pierre Gasly goes back to their karting days. Putting them in the same team was always going to be risky. Ocon has a reputation for being difficult to work with, and pairing him with a driver he’s publicly clashed with for years? Probably not the smartest move. Sure enough, tensions rose. And now, Ocon is set to leave for Haas. Things got so bad that he didn’t even drive the final race of the season.
And then there’s the Oscar Piastri saga. In 2022, Alpine announced Piastri as their future driver, only for Piastri to publicly deny it and sign with McLaren instead. The way he and Mark Webber handled it? Ruthless, but impressive. They definitely dodged a bullet there.
When you zoom out, Alpine’s driver line-up isn’t necessarily uncommon for a team like that, but when you pile on the rest of what’s been going on? They really don’t need that.
Now to the latest twist: Alpine will no longer build their own engines. This season, Alpine confirmed they’re shutting down their Renault engine programme and becoming a Mercedes customer team from 2026. On paper, that might not sound like a big deal, Mercedes engines are known for reliability and performance. They power teams like McLaren (who are winning again) and Williams (who are climbing fast).
But make no mistake: this is a huge step backwards.
In F1, every team wants to be a works team. When you build your own engine, you control every aspect of your car, performance, integration, packaging, the works. Alpine giving that up shows just how far their confidence in the project has fallen. They clearly don’t believe their engine can compete under the new 2026 regulations. And while switching to Mercedes power might help short-term, it’s a sign that they’ve lost faith in their long-term vision.
So where does that leave Alpine?
They’ve had six team principals in five years. Their driver line-up is in constant flux. They’ve lost faith in their engine programme. And now, their team is being run, at least for now, by a man best known for one of the biggest scandals in F1 history.
It’s a mess. And unlike before, Alpine can’t fly under the radar anymore. They’re no longer just “quietly midfield.”
They’re front and centre, for all the wrong reasons.
See you trackside!
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