Is it possible for a truly awful season to actually help a Formula 1 team in the long run? Alpine certainly hopes so, and their reflections on a painful 2025 season reveal a fascinating strategy. They believe the hardships they endured, combined with a significant power unit change, could pave the way for future success. But here's where it gets controversial: is focusing on future gains worth sacrificing current performance and potentially demotivating the team?
For Alpine, 2025 was, by most accounts, a year to forget. The team made a strategic decision early on to aggressively shift their focus toward the radical 2026 Formula 1 regulations. This meant essentially halting development on their 2025 car, the A525, much earlier than their rivals. This decision was made with the hope of stealing a march on the competition when the new regulations came into play.
However, Alpine was taken aback when several of their competitors continued to introduce upgrades and improvements throughout the 2025 season. This, coupled with a Renault engine that was perceived to be down on power compared to its rivals, created a double whammy of challenges. The team struggled to achieve decent results, and this naturally took a toll on morale within the team. Imagine pouring your heart and soul into a project, only to see it consistently fall short of expectations – that's the situation Alpine faced.
Despite finishing near the bottom of the constructors' championship, behind-the-scenes developments offered glimmers of hope. Pierre Gasly, in particular, stood out. Despite having limited equipment to work with, Gasly demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and capitalized on the few opportunities that presented themselves. Examples include his impressive fourth-place starting position in Bahrain, a solid sixth-place finish at Silverstone, and consistent appearances in Q3 (the final qualifying session) in the last four races of the season.
"I’ve scored the least amount of points in my F1 career, but personally I feel I’ve put in a strong performance," Gasly confessed at the end of the season. "It doesn’t really bring any satisfaction, so I’m just very happy to move away from this year."
While Gasly's desire to move on is completely understandable, it's crucial to recognize that 2025 wasn't a complete write-off. Both Gasly and Alpine are eager to leave the difficult season behind, but they also acknowledge the valuable lessons learned. This applies both to Gasly's personal development – where he consciously worked on team leadership and motivation – and to the collective progress made by the Enstone-based squad.
Could a Poor Car Actually Make a Team Operationally Stronger? That's precisely what Alpine believes.
These positive aspects remained largely hidden during the 2025 season, but Alpine is confident that they will reap the benefits once they have a more competitive car at their disposal. And this is the part most people miss: a difficult season can force a team to examine every single process and communication pathway, leading to improvements that might not have been identified otherwise.
"I’m the happiest I’ve ever been with the work we’re putting in with the team and all the preparation," Gasly explained. "The work with the guys, like getting the car in a good place with mappings, set-up – it's obviously been three years with the team, so they’ve got a good understanding of what I want."
He continued, "We have a forum where we’re quite honest with each other, but there's no finger pointing. We’re just honest in assessing our own performance. Obviously, when you’re 10th, you can’t really hide things, and I think it almost helped us as a team to be more objective about what we do well and what we need to improve. I think, moving forward, this season has definitely made us stronger as a team."
When asked about the areas where these improvements could be most valuable in 2026, Gasly highlighted communication and awareness. "Communication and awareness of what we’ve got to improve, what we’re good at, and how we can become even better. I think we’ve tried to push all that stuff as much as we could within the limitations of the package we had this year."
In a strange twist, the underperforming car actually played a beneficial role. Because Alpine lacked raw pace, the team was forced to delve deeper into operational nuances than ever before. Think of it like this: when you're already winning, you might not scrutinize every single detail, but when you're struggling, you leave no stone unturned.
"When you’re lacking overall performance, you dig quite deep into these small details that don’t make much difference," Gasly explained. "I think we took things quite to the extreme in the way we do mappings and the set-up, the work we do at the factory, how much debriefing we have, and how deep we go into things. I must say it’s the best work I’ve done with the team."
This intensive scrutiny has taught Alpine valuable lessons about maximizing their package. In 2025, this wasn't always enough to secure points, but in 2026 – hopefully with a more powerful engine – the situation could change dramatically. Gasly emphasized, "It’s not like we were miles away from everyone; it’s just that we were on the wrong end of the midfield. And yeah, in terms of actual work as a team, that’s what brings me quite a lot of confidence. If we get the car to a good place, I think we have the right processes in place to actually perform."
Franco Colapinto, Gasly's teammate, echoed this sentiment: "I think it's very simple: I think from the lows you learn the most. This year we had a lot of lows and that's led to a very good learning and a very good understanding of things."
Colapinto was pleasantly surprised by the team's ability to find positives in the face of adversity in 2025. "Not giving up and keep pushing in difficult moments, that was the one thing I was really surprised with," Colapinto said. "When it's not going well or not going as you expect, it's tricky to keep the motivation up and to keep going week after week to find new things."
He added, "But I saw that from the team. That was very impressive and something that I think is going to bring a lot of good results when the car is competitive. The team also deserves that, hopefully it comes sooner rather than later."
Gasly, for one, is eagerly anticipating that moment. With a Mercedes engine and the lessons learned from the previous year, Alpine is aiming for a significant leap forward in 2026. Amidst all the discussions surrounding the new regulations and their potential impact on racing, Gasly makes it clear that his primary focus after eight seasons in F1 is winning. The entertainment value of the racing is secondary. This might be controversial, but is he right? Should drivers prioritize winning above all else, even if it means less exciting races for the fans?
"I don’t enjoy being in the position I was in last season, and I know I will enjoy being at the front of the field. Even if the racing wouldn’t be the most entertaining, we would still be the best of everyone driving these cars, right?" Gasly stated.
"I’m sure guys like [Fernando] Alonso or Lewis [Hamilton] can say that back in 2007, they used to drive the car in a very different way than they did in 2014, when the new engine came in. And again, very different from what they did in 2021. So, as a driver, you always have to adapt to these regulation changes."
Gasly concluded, "There are many factors to take into consideration, but if you ask me, I just want to be at the front of the field. I’ve been in F1 long enough, I’ve had a few podiums, and I’ve had a race win, but I know that from a competitive point of view I want to be fighting with those guys that I see up front, which I know I can fight."
Whether Alpine will have the necessary equipment in 2026 remains to be seen. However, as F1 enters its new era, Alpine's outlook is notably more positive than it was a year ago. The team hopes to capitalize on the operational improvements forged during their most challenging season. Combined with the introduction of a new Mercedes engine, this should at least translate to a step forward in 2026. While some avenues in Viry (Renault Engine HQ) may have closed, Alpine and Gasly are optimistic that these changes will ultimately pave the way for success.
What do you think? Was Alpine's decision to focus on 2026 the right move, even at the expense of their 2025 performance? And do you agree with Gasly that winning is the ultimate priority, even if it means less entertaining races? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
