Out with the new, in with the old in a chaotic 24 hours at Alpine

LONDON — What a difference a day makes. In the space of 24 hours, Alpine has gone from having the youngest principal in the Formula One paddock to the oldest, while handing Pierre Gasly a new teammate — his third in nine races.

Once again the words turmoil and chaos, perhaps unfairly, are being attached to the Renault-owned team, the glory days of which are an increasingly distant memory.

When Oliver Oakes arrived last August, under the watchful gaze of special advisor and former team boss Flavio Briatore, the then 36-year-old came in as a racer who understood the sport and could sort things out.

The Briton surprisingly resigned on Tuesday after eight months, officially for personal reasons, with 75-year-old Briatore — who in 2009 was banned from F1 for his part in the 'Crashgate' scandal — again calling the shots.

Gasly, who joined in 2023 when American Otmar Szafnauer was in charge and has scored all of their seven points so far this season, is now working with his fourth team boss at the Enstone factory.

The Frenchman is clearly hoping the turbulence will now settle.

"He's come with a lot of experience, a lot of network, someone that makes changes, and sometimes you've got to be pushed and challenged, and that's what he does all the time," Gasly said in Briatore's defense last weekend.

"I think he's brought a lot of good stuff to the team."

Szafnauer left in July 2023, along with chief technical officer Pat Fry and sporting director Alan Permane. Fry is now at resurgent Williams, currently fifth in the standings, while Permane is at Racing Bulls.

Bruno Famin replaced Szafnauer and lasted a year, handing over the reins to Oakes.

At the end of September last year Renault — which rebranded its team Alpine in 2021 — announced the end of engine production after nearly half a century in F1.

Next year, the team will race with Mercedes power units, a move that ends its status as a factory outfit and has been interpreted by some as a prelude to a sale, despite loud denials from management.

Esteban Ocon, Gasly's teammate last year and now at Haas, was released before the end of last season, with Jack Doohan taking his place in Abu Dhabi.

After six races in 2025, Australian Doohan has been moved aside for Argentine Franco Colapinto — who has officially been given five races to show what he can do.

The seeds of that development were sown in January, when Alpine signed Colapinto as reserve, triggering speculation that Doohan's days were numbered.

Meanwhile Australian Oscar Piastri, the driver Alpine announced as its new signing for 2023 only for him to refuse to race for it, is now a multiple winner leading the championship with McLaren.

Piastri dodged a bullet then, wisely advised by manager and former racer Mark Webber, who started out in F1 as a Renault test driver and was guided throughout his career by Briatore.

Fernando Alonso, a double world champion with Briatore's Renault in 2005 and 2006 and still racing at 43, had triggered that fiasco by jumping ship to Aston Martin for 2023 — a move that extended his career.

Renault, or Alpine, has won just once — in 2021 — since it returned as a works team in 2016.

Barring a freak situation, as nearly happened in a wet Brazil last year when Ocon and Gasly finished second and third to rescue the team's season and finish the campaign sixth overall, the next one looks a long way off.

REUTERS