[Team] Alpine: The cars are Racing Points

[Alan52]

They were 4th in Constructors in 2022.
Guess that every move they’ve made since then has been the wrong one.
Feel sorry for Gasly and Ocon who both deserve a better car.How soon can either of them jump?

[Aysedasi]

But to where can they jump?

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

But to where can they jump?

I believe that only the following have contracts that extend beyond the end of this season, and at least a couple of these expire at the end of 2025:

Verstappen
Russell
Leclerc
Norris
Piastri
Hamilton
Stroll
Albon

So, in theory, at least 12 seats are up for grabs for next year.

[steve_r]

The team need a McLaren-esq upgrade, but seeing as loads of senior staff have left, the likely hood of that is presumably low.

As for the two drivers - I cant see any of the 4 currently fastest teams tripping over themselves to sign up either of them. Ocon has links with Mercedes, but has he really done enough to warrant a seat there?

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I believe that only the following have contracts that extend beyond the end of this season, and at least a couple of these expire at the end of 2025:

Verstappen
Russell
Leclerc
Norris
Piastri
Hamilton
Stroll
Albon

So, in theory, at least 12 seats are up for grabs for next year.

Good time to point out that Hamilton also had a contract that extended beyond 2024 as well....

I'm going to go big and say 18 seats up for grabs in theory

Hamilton and Lance being the only two not...

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by steve_r

The team need a McLaren-esq upgrade, but seeing as loads of senior staff have left, the likely hood of that is presumably low.

As for the two drivers - I cant see any of the 4 currently fastest teams tripping over themselves to sign up either of them. Ocon has links with Mercedes, but has he really done enough to warrant a seat there?

Ocon has barely done enough to warrant a Williams seat.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Good time to point out that Hamilton also had a contract that extended beyond 2024 as well....

I'm going to go big and say 18 seats up for grabs in theory

Hamilton and Lance being the only two not...

We only now know that Hamilton could have accepted an option for 2025 which Mercedes were required to accept; so often with these contracts, it's the other way around, and Hamilton didn't break their contract.

However, we don't know if any of the 12 drivers also have a get out clause in their contracts.

[V8 Fireworks]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Ocon has barely done enough to warrant a Williams seat.

Ocon is a Grand Prix winner, 3 podiums and a Grand Prix veteran, I am 100% sure he will be an improvement on Logan Sergeant..

I was in favour of Alpine paying out Ocon's contract and running Alonso and Piastri, but for Williams getting a solid veteran to support Albon in scoring points makes a lot of sense -- whether it's Gasly, Ocon or even Magnussen possibly.

Of course, that is unless a Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull offer a lot of money for Williams to run Antonelli, Bearman or Lawson.

It will be interesting to see if Alpine are able to extend Gasly and Ocon's contacts for 2025, or if those drivers are no longer interested in the French national team.

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

Ocon is a Grand Prix winner, 3 podiums and a Grand Prix veteran, I am 100% sure he will be an improvement on Logan Sergeant..

I was in favour of Alpine paying out Ocon's contract and running Alonso and Piastri, but for Williams getting a solid veteran to support Albon in scoring points makes a lot of sense -- whether it's Gasly, Ocon or even Magnussen possibly.

Of course, that is unless a Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull offer a lot of money for Williams to run Antonelli, Bearman or Lawson.

It will be interesting to see if Alpine are able to extend Gasly and Ocon's contacts for 2025, or if those drivers are no longer interested in the French national team.

All true, but for me he is the most vanilla, underwhelming driver on the grid. At least Stroll, Zhou and Sargeant provide entertainment in the form of the barriers.

There are plenty of solid veterans on the grid, it's time to cull a few.

We have Kmag, Hulk, Bottas, Ocon, Ricciardo, Perez, Gasly, Stroll.

That's 40% of the grid! Could easily get rid of half of these drivers.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Skam85

Ocon has barely done enough to warrant a Williams seat.

As we know it's tough to keep form and focus high when continually trudging round in cars that don't deliver what they should do.

Fairly confident that if you put Ocon in a Merc he would be very close to Russell's level.

[Skam85]

Originally Posted by chunterer

As we know it's tough to keep form and focus high when continually trudging round in cars that don't deliver what they should do.

Fairly confident that if you put Ocon in a Merc he would be very close to Russell's level.

Maybe I was being harsh with Williams but he definitely hasn't done anything that screams top driver.

Correct, but I also don't think Russell is in the top of the top echelon either..

[GTRMagic]

It might not be a surprise if Renault does not proceed with its 2026 engine program..

[steve_r]

Would Andretti buy out the team to get into F1? Or are Alpine fully committed to F1? Or is that possibility a million miles off?