Alpine’s Executive Advisor: “Nothing from last year will remain this season. For this reason, we have halted development in 2025.”

“2026 will bring dramatic changes.” This statement comes from someone who knows Formula 1 well, namely Flavio Briatore, who returned to an operational role in the Circus in 2024, becoming Executive Advisor to Alpine. On the sidelines of the presentation of the French team’s car for the coming season in Barcelona, the former Benetton team principal emphasized the impact of the regulatory change taking place in 2026: “Nothing from last year will remain this season. For this reason, we have halted development in 2025, a year in which, even if we improved, we would be penalized by the engine, focusing everything on the next championship.” After difficult years, there is now a climate of confidence in the French team, as it has been able to prepare itself as best as possible for this regulatory revolution: “We had a perfect shakedown. We immediately covered 150 kilometers, even in bad weather. We are confident: every department head was able to do what they wanted, and no one told me they needed more time. So either we have a competitive car, or we all have to go home.” The bar is therefore set high, as usual with Briatore at the helm.

The 2026 regulations will also bring major changes in terms of driving, with drivers facing several new challenges, including managing the electrical part of the Power Unit and active aerodynamics. Drivers will therefore not only have to be fast, but also patient and skilled in managing the various elements of the car that will be under their control, as Briatore himself confirms: “This year, the car will be different to drive. Drivers will have to think a lot, the cars are complicated to manage. We need fast drivers, but also ones who are smart and good at understanding the moments. Pierre (Gasly, ed.) can do well in this regard. I think drivers like Alonso or Verstappen have an advantage in this situation. In general, drivers will not have to be impetuous.”

Mercedes engines—  The regulations are not the only big news for Alpine. Starting next season, the French team will no longer use its own engines but will instead use Mercedes Power Units, thus becoming a customer team. The decision to give up the design and development of its own engines was made by Briatore himself, as he confirmed: “The decision to switch to Mercedes engines was 100% mine. At first, De Meo (former CEO of the Renault group, ed.) was skeptical, but then he changed his mind. I would not have returned to Formula 1 without the certainty of having an engine on par with the rest of the grid.“ The Italian manager confirmed the quality of the Mercedes engines, which have been the subject of much discussion in recent weeks, saying he was confident: ”We have an engine that is perhaps the best on the grid, and this allows us to start from an important base. Having a competitive engine alleviates a lot of the problems we had last season.”
A look back—  With the regulatory change in 2026, Formula 1 is entering a new era. For Briatore, however, regardless of regulations and eras, the nature of F1 has remained the same: “It’s always a competition between the best engineers in the world, and it’s always satisfying to be part of it. Perhaps one difference from the past concerns operations. Before, many people owned teams or at least shares in them, whereas now there are managers. Before, it was a little easier and quicker to make decisions, but now the processes are more complicated.”