Alpine looked likely to change their driver line-up for 2025 even before the events of the Monaco Grand Prix. Now it seems a certainty.
Since last summer, there has been an exodus of key personnel from the Enstone outfit. CEO Laurent Rossi and team principal Otmar Szafnauer are among those to lose their jobs.
Szafnauer believes that this spate of sackings has contributed to Alpine’s on-track woes. They scored 120 points and two podiums last year to finish sixth in the championship, but have suffered a major drop-off this term.
With exactly a third of the season gone, Bruno Famin’s team are second from bottom in the standings, having scored just two points. In an unstable and uncompetitive team, drivers are bound to become unsettled.
Indeed, there were strong indications at the start of the month that Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were ‘exploring their options’. But after Ocon hit Gasly and incurred the wrath of Famin in Monaco, the landscape has shifted.
The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and Alpine are unlikely to offer him an extension because he’s caused too many ‘headaches’. It’s the second time the two drivers have collided during their partnership, with the first resulting in a double DNF at the 2023 Australian GP.
Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly could form 2025 Alpine line-up
According to formula1.com journalist Lawrence Barretto, Ocon’s impending exit ‘increases the chances’ of Gasly staying put. Helmut Marko has likened the incumbent duo to Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, but Ocon leaving could restore harmony to the garage.
Indeed, the problem may be the combination of Gasly and Ocon, rather than either of the drivers individually. Alpine might decide to stick with the former Red Bull driver and ‘mix things up’ with the second seat.
Carlos Sainz is the top free agent on the market ahead of his Ferrari exit but he’s ‘unlikely’ to join. Instead, they could go for the experienced figure of Valtteri Bottas.
Bottas may lose his seat at Sauber after the signing of Nico Hulkenberg. But he’s a veteran of 230 Grands Prix and has collected 10 victories and 67 podiums.
Alpine could also go down the route of promoting youth instead. Reserve driver Jack Doohan and academy talent Victor Martins, a race-winner in Formula 2, are both contenders.
What Jack Doohan has said about 2025 Alpine chances
For Alpine, Bottas would represent the safe, proven option. Lewis Hamilton has called him a ‘gentleman’ and his reputation as a team player could appeal to Famin given the divisions in his ranks.
However, it wouldn’t necessarily be the most exciting acquisition. The Finn will turn 35 later this year and some may feel his best days are behind him given that Sauber aren’t overly keen on retaining him.
Doohan and Martins are, by contrast, unknown quantities, but they also offer more long-term potential at this stage. And promoting them would help attract young talents to the Alpine driver academy by showing a clear path to Formula 1.
The Australian believes he has ‘a good chance’ of earning the seat for 2025. He recently tested for the team in Zandvoort and has fully devoted himself to their reserve driver role this season.
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