Flavio Briatore’s admission: he also tried to persuade Carlos Sainz and Adrian Newey to join Alpine’s F1 project. The Spanish driver and the English engineer, both free agents heading into 2025, had different paths: while the Ferrari driver was strongly linked with the French team, Adrian Newey first seemed destined to join Scuderia Ferrari and later moved to Aston Martin.
An attempt was made to quickly initiate a revolution at Enstone. Italian businessman Flavio Briatore, now an Alpine executive consultant, sought to shake up the team immediately. With Carlos Sainz and Adrian Newey on the market, the Italian manager tried for a double signing that would have certainly rocked the F1 world. However, the outcome was negative on both fronts.
“We already have good and fast drivers, the problem is the car,” he said in a recent interview for the Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m not someone who buys drivers; I always like them to grow within the team, as I did with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. I think and hope that Doohan can give us guarantees in 2025. I tried to sign Carlos Sainz and Adrian Newey, but the negotiations didn’t go well.”
The technical challenge is certainly complex. There is the Power Unit issue, with the French team in discussions with both Viry-Chatillon engineers and Mercedes to find a decisive but perhaps not drastic solution. But it is the car as a whole that disappoints Flavio Briatore. However, the budget provided by Renault should be enough to turn the team’s fortunes around.
“I’m more focused on teamwork,” explains the manager. “One evening I went to the factory and saw about 80 people working; that had never happened before. I’ve always won titles with a budget 30% less than my rivals, and I haven’t forgotten the magic formula. Now I’ve put the headphones back on to listen to the guys in the workshop, and I’m ready to make Alpine great again.” – he concluded.
Source: f1ingenerale
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