Flavio Briatore isn't ruling out the possibility of Alpine shaking up its driver lineup mid-season in 2025.
The colorful Italian officially serves as a team advisor under Renault CEO Luca de Meo, but the latter let slip at the unveiling of Alpine's 2025 car: "Let's be honest, Flavio is the boss."
Briatore has made no secret of his pivotal role in opting for Mercedes customer engines starting in 2026, nor his efforts to lock in Franco Colapinto on a multi-year loan from Williams.
"To win you need everything to be competitive and the engine was not competitive," the 74-year-old said. "Anyone in my position would have chosen between Mercedes or Ferrari, and I chose Mercedes.
"I came back to win races and for that you need the best."
For Briatore, "the best" extends to the drivers behind the wheel, and Pierre Gasly seems safe for the moment. "I didn't know Gasly," he said, "but he did five or six fantastic final races.
"And it was positive to put Jack (Doohan) in Abu Dhabi to give him one more race of experience."
Yet it's 22-year-old newcomer Jack Doohan whose spot looks shaky, with whispers suggesting Colapinto might swoop in—possibly as early as five races into 2025.
"No, no," said Briatore. "It will be more than five. I'm joking," he smiled. "We'll see.
"First we're going to start the season. I'm not a killer, I just want to have the best drivers possible. I've been representing Fernando Alonso for 23 years, which shows that I support drivers who give me what I ask of them."
When discussing Alpine's freshly revealed 2025 machine, Briatore was clear: "I need someone fast who can win a race.
"I am not pushing for Colapinto," he said. "We have three reserve drivers. (Paul) Aron and Colapinto are very, very fast. Jack, at the moment, has done very well in the testing and Gasly did a super job last year.
"We are going to start the season and then we will see if we have the chance. If not this year, then next year. Of course we look for talent, but everyone does, because with talent it is easier to win world championships.
"We had it with (Michael) Schumacher and with Fernando - the top drivers make the difference and I try to make sure that we have the best possible. Whether it is Colapinto, Paul or Jack, it doesn't matter to me."
On another note, Alpine's 2025 livery bursts with more color than last year's more black carbon-based design. "The car is full of sponsor stickers," Briatore admits.
"The engineers complain because the car is too heavy, but I tell them that if we remove the sticker, we remove the money."
