Carlos Sainz became one of the most sought-after drivers in F1 when his Ferrari exit made him available for the 2025 season. Several teams expressed interest in signing him, including Alpine. However, the deal ultimately fell through due to disagreements during contract negotiations — something Flavio Briatore recently shed light on.
The biggest issue for Sainz was the length of the contract Alpine was offering him. “I spoke with Sainz. He was interesting for us, but only for four years,” Briatore said to AMuS. “It makes no sense to take a driver like Carlos for one or two years“.
AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT – They [Alpine] wanted Carlos Sainz. He signed with Williams. What went wrong there?
Flavio Briatore: I spoke with Sainz. He was interesting to us, but only for four years. It makes no sense to take a driver like Carlos for one or two years.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/6957x4Vr4I
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) December 14, 2024
For Sainz too, security was important. Even Mercedes was reportedly offering him a one-year deal, but he wanted more. Being a four-time GP winner (having won all with Ferrari), Sainz wanted his next team to be capable of winning as well. Unfortunately, none of the options—Alpine, Williams, and Sauber—looked suitable.
In the end, he settled for a project he believed in. Sainz signed for Williams and also accepted the fact that the Grove-based outfit would not be in a position to fight at the front.
Reports suggest that Sainz’s contract with Williams includes a clause allowing him to leave after just one season if a top team like Red Bull expresses interest. Given Sainz’s unlikely patience with driving for a backmarker team, Briatore explained that it didn’t make sense for Alpine to invest heavily in him.
“Either he believes in our program, or he doesn’t,” Briatore said, justifying the decision to abandon the pursuit of Sainz. Instead, Alpine chose to promote their reserve driver, Jack Doohan, who is expected to commit to the team for a longer period.
Why did Alpine sign Doohan?
Alpine decided to sign Doohan as a replacement for Esteban Ocon, who developed quite a strained relationship with Pierre Gasly. Since Alpine wanted more harmony and wanted their drivers to work together, they thought it was best to part ways with Ocon and sign someone young to get a mix of youth and experience in the team.
Doohan emerged as a top candidate for the role as he is just 21 and is also a part of Alpine’s driver academy. Since the 2025 season will be the young Aussie’s debut F1 season, Alpine decided to prepare him for the role by giving him the drive at this year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi.
The 21-year-old had a disappointing debut race as he was the slowest during qualifying and only managed to finish P15 in the race, one in which there were four retirements. In stark contrast, his teammate Gasly qualified in P6 and scored six points for the team by finishing seventh.
