Alpine is planning a “pretty big” upgrade, which will form the basis of its 2025 car, for the final stages of the current Formula 1 season.
The French manufacturer has had a difficult 2024 season so far, with its A524 starting the year in Bahrain as the slowest on the grid.
The team has since undergone major infrastructural changes, including the departure of technical director Matt Harman to Williams and the impending departure of team principal Bruno Famin.
However, there have also been some hires, including Flavio Briatore as an advisor to the F1 team and David Sanchez as executive technical director, while Oliver Oakes will become team principal after the summer break.
These changes come alongside solid progress made by the team on the track. From those early days of struggling at the back, they have returned to a team that scores points more consistently. Alpine, which continues to be based in Enstone, is currently eighth in the constructors’ championship.
Now, following a major update at the Belgian Grand Prix, the team has revealed plans for a big shakeup coming for the season-ending grands prix.
Reflecting on the latest updates, Sanchez said: “This is a first step in our timetable for the second part of the season. We have another one, which should be quite big, and that should be the basis for next year. We will definitely do more on this year’s car.”
David Sanchez, Alpine Executive Technical Director
Photo by: Alpine
Sanchez said that after his arrival, the team deliberately worked on a parallel schedule to introduce two phases of updates.
“We’ve been working on this since day one,” he said. “The other one is an extension, using a little bit more time to go further.”
Asked when the update will be, Sanchez replied: “A few races after the break.”
While the early part of the season saw Alpine struggling with an overweight car and major traction issues, Sanchez said the team has now moved out of the troubleshooting phase and is instead looking to make performance gains.
“The number one problem for everyone is to find more downforce and try to eliminate some of the anomalies that you can find with the current car,” he said. “This package [l’ultimo aggiornamento] It was mainly designed to get more downforce, but also a little more top speed.”
Having only joined Alpine in May, Sanchez hasn’t had much time to make any radical changes to the organisation. However, he believes the ball is now rolling on developments that should leave the team in good shape for the looming rule changes from 2026.
“From an infrastructure standpoint, the team was already well underway with its plans,” he said. “But we evaluated together whether it was necessary to prioritize some elements over others.”
“I think the plan we have now, if I look to 2026 and beyond, should be in a good place. Now it’s more about putting everything in the right direction with this car, the next one, and building more confidence in the team.”
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