Carlos Sainz made a bold move as he decided to snub Alpine and join Williams instead in 2025. Before the Spaniard made his decision, he was heavily linked with Alpine after the French outfit brought back former team principal Flavio Briatore. However, with Sainz choosing to sign with Williams despite Briatore’s return to Alpine, this move is likely to hurt the Italian’s ego.
According to a video put out by The Race, Alpine believed that they could convince Sainz to join their team after they made plans to ditch their own Renault engine for a Mercedes power unit. Alpine has indeed struggled massively recently because of their engines being the weakest among the current manufacturers.
Very happy to announce I’ll be joining @WilliamsRacing next season! Excited about the project and the challenges ahead of us!
Muy contento de poder anunciar que el año que viene me uniré a @WilliamsRacing! Entusiasmado con el proyecto y con los retos que tendremos por… pic.twitter.com/oUg5IexunR
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) July 29, 2024
Hence, there were rumors that Alpine were considering signing a deal with Mercedes to secure their engines and become a customer team. However, with Alpine failing to sign Sainz, The Race believes the Spaniard’s snub just proves how unappealing the French team’s project is to drivers.
As per The Race, there are major concerns with Alpine as Briatore has been trying his best to convince others of their project, but there is little evidence to prove that they are making progress.
Moreover, with the Enstone outfit recently parting ways with team principal Bruno Famin, The Race believes that Sainz did not want to sign for a team, where there was so much uncertainty. Now, the pressure is on Briatore to stabilize the floundering Alpine team.
Briatore called himself a “genius” after returning to Alpine
There is no secret that Briatore is one of the most confident individuals in the paddock. He thinks highly of himself after he led Renault (now Alpine) to two world championships with Fernando Alonso back in 2005 and 2006.
Now, with him returning, the Italian is confident that he can turn around the fortunes of his former side. Briatore said, “I have a great feeling with Luca [de Meo]. I really think he’s a genius. The only part [where they lack something] is Formula 1, and I think I’m a genius in Formula 1!”
And Briatore’s confidence in his abilities did not just end there. He hit back at a reporter who questioned his capabilities of turning Alpine’s fortunes around, having not been in an active role in F1 for the past 15 years.
“I think you’re less active than I am! I’ve stayed in Formula 1, I’m a Formula 1 ambassador, I see all the races,” he said. “What I’m going to bring is the culture of winning, the ‘racing spirit”.
While Briatore has little doubt about his abilities, what counts in F1 are results, and Alpine are yet struggling after his appointment as the team’s advisor at the British GP. Since the race at Silverstone, the French outfit have just managed to score two points.
