By Joe Murphy
It has certainly divided opinion!
Alpine have come under increasing pressure after it was revealed they are prioritising 2026 over this current year in the sport.
With the changes to regulations coming into effect at the start of next season, teams such as Sauber and Williams, who you’d expect to be towards the back of the grid in 2025, have started planning development time into next seasons car, in essence sacrificing speed and performance for the next two dozen races.
Now Alpine, who enjoyed an up turn in 2024, have angered some fans by reducing the performance of this year’s car in support of the 2026 challenger. There were hopes that Alpine could contend with the top four constructors of McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, with podiums not beyond the realms of possibility.
However, recent developments appear too suggest that Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan will be fighting to get put of Q1, rather than getting anywhere near P1.
In 2024, a consortium of sports and business stakeholders invested in Alpine, with the French outfit’s long term ambitions revealed as being back towards the front of the grid.
It looks like fans of the team and drivers are going to have to wait a little longer for any chance of this happening.
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 