Alpine has made significant strides since Flavio Briatore returned to lead the project, but the executive admits he still cannot explain why the team remains distant from victories in Formula 1. Despite this, he considers that the work done so far is within the established goals.
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In an interview with The Race, Briatore stated that he fulfilled the promise made to Renault (Alpine’s owner) for the 2026 season by putting the team in a position to compete for the top spots in the midfield pack. Even having lost fifth place in the constructors’ championship to Racing Bulls before the August break, he believes the progress confirms that the plan is moving forward.
“This is the first year we have, somewhat, the elements in place. Last year I promised Renault that we would be in the top six the following year. If we manage, maybe we will be in the top five. But clearly, the top 6, moving from tenth to sixth position, is already there. That was my promise,” he said.
Despite the progress, Briatore believes Alpine has enough resources to fight for bigger results. According to him, the partnership with Mercedes for power unit supply and the investments made in the factory infrastructure put the team in a favorable position, but it is still necessary to find superior performance: “We have everything to win. The deal we made with Mercedes is excellent because we chose the right partner. And we are investing a lot of money in the factory infrastructure, we have everything. We need to put the pieces of the puzzle together. To achieve this, we need to be a bit more creative than we currently are, take more risks,” he added.
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The executive also expressed frustration at not seeing this potential reflected on the track: “I don’t know why we haven’t won yet. I don’t know why we haven’t surpassed McLaren, Ferrari! We have done that before. The only issue is believing in what you do and measuring yourself against these people,” he concluded.
When comparing the situation with Aston Martin, Briatore argued that having a top-level structure does not guarantee immediate results and concluded that confidence in the project itself is a decisive factor in turning investment into performance.
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