Now that Alpine has secured the services of Pierre Gasly for “2025 and beyond” their next job is to nail their second seat.
After the team decided to part ways with Esteban Ocon at the end of the year, it left them in a precarious situation as Gasly’s contract was also up for renewal.
The team turned up to Bahrain with one of the slowest cars on the grid and while things have improved, there is still ambiguity over whether the team plans to scrap its 2026 power unit plans and become a customer team.
Gasly was reportedly looking into options at Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton vacated his seat for Ferrari, but it appears they are focusing more on 17-year-old protégé Andre Kimi Antonelli.
Staying put is his best option to assess whether their personnel changes behind the scenes can yield some form of progress in time for 2026. Ocon being out of the fold will improve relations after tensions rose between the pair in the last few races, but who will likely replace him?
Mick Schumacher’s last chance
Alpine confirmed that it will be testing Mick Schumacher at Paul Ricard in the coming days, which will likely be the German’s last chance to impress before a decision is made.
The 25-year-old is trying to improve his reputation after a crash-ridden final season with Haas left him without a drive at the end of 2022. Former team boss Guenther Steiner advised the team not to sign him, and instead to look for “the best driver out there.”
Schumacher has been taking part in Alpine’s WEC programme this year and was part of their entry at the 24 hours of Le Mans. His race was cut short after one stint when the team’s suffered engine failure just six hours into the race.
Elsewhere, Schumacher has helped Mercedes in their understanding of the problems with their W15 during in-season tests and been seen in the paddock representing the team.
His family ties with executive advisor Flavio Briatore might improve his chances, but he will need to show meaningful speed on track to fit in with Alpine’s current situation.
A last minute shot with Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz has emerged as a late contender for the Alpine seat, no doubt at the behest of Briatore whose task was to make Alpine competitive again. Why not sign one of three drivers that has only managed to topple Max Verstappen in the last 12 months?
For Sainz the move would be based on the short term rather than long, considering he was believed to only have options for Sauber and Williams. Both of those are long-term projects aimed at the 2026 ruleset but neither guarantees competitiveness.
Alpine would be less of a step back for Sainz but comes with more uncertainty. Depending on the nature of the contract they offer, it could be a lucrative move for both parties.
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Promote from within?
Should Alpine miss out on Sainz, they could promote Jack Doohan from their Academy driver list. The 21-year-old emerged as a ‘favourite’ to replace Ocon having been described as a ‘complete’ driver by his former F2 boss Andy Roche.
It would be a vote of confidence in the young driver system, proving that being part of it could take you all the way to F1.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan? Everything you need to know
Only Zhou Guanyu has benefitted from these ties but this did not directly lead to a drive with the French team. Oscar Piastri was also meant to get a promotion before McLaren swooped in and took him away.
Doohan or F2 racer Victor Martins could be viable options, with the latter having recently impressed testing various Alpine F1 machinery.
Experienced Valtteri Bottas?
An outside chance but could be a logical one would be to go with 10-time F1 race winner Valtteri Bottas. His contract with Sauber is up for renewal and he comes with lucrative sponsorship and social media presence, not to mention his fan-favourite reputation.
Bottas is arguably underrated and is a proven hand while he was up against Hamilton at Mercedes. The Alpine project would appeal to him given he also showed enthusiasm over the Audi project at Sauber.
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