Alpine 'must' fight for title in 2027 – Briatore

Feb.14 (GMM) Alpine is hoping for the odd podium in 2025, regular top-three finishes in 2026, “and in 2027 we must be able to fight for the title”.

That’s the word from team advisor Flavio Briatore, after announcing that he has successfully wooed the Italian oil giant Eni back to Enstone and Formula 1.

Since Alpine’s woeful start to 2024, and mid-season return of former title-winning team boss Briatore as a powerful advisor, the team began to make progress.

“We understood what wasn’t working within the team,” the 74-year-old Italian told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Now that we’ve put everything in order, we can work to improve ourselves.”

Briatore agrees that he has been able to oversee a return to the “racing team way of working” at Enstone.

“In 2025, Alpine must always be in the top six, perhaps even fighting for some podiums,” he said. “We have much more aerodynamic margin than McLaren and Ferrari.

“In 2026, however, we aim to compete for the podium in half of the championship’s grands prix, and in 2027 we must be able to fight for the title,” Briatore added.

Former team driver Gerhard Berger, who knows Briatore well, says the Italian is “exactly the right man” for Alpine today.

“In a very short space of time he has turned the team around, which had been stuck in the same quagmire for years,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “Many people have tried it, but no one has taken the company any further.

“Six months was enough for Flavio,” Berger added. “And I think it will get even better. It was of course a brutal decision to buy engines from Mercedes (from 2026) instead of using Renault’s own engines, but for pure performance it was probably the right step.”

Team boss Oliver Oakes told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Alpine’s fans should not expect a huge step forward in 2025.

“We want to be in the leading group but we know that there are no miracle solutions. We just have to make a better car,” he said.