Another team in chaos
And it isn't Red Bull!
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I kinda wore myself out writing so much about Max freakin Verstappen this month, but I feel better now my thoughts on the matter are eloquently (for a given value of eloquently) put out there. I don’t want to spend any more brain-cycles thinking about the inner workings, or not as the case may be, of Red Bull Racing, but I’m real glad Max and his driving at the Spanish Grand Prix just validated every point I made in that 3 part essay.
So.
Let’s talk about how chaotic Alpine are!
Quick note: There’s been a lot of toxic fan action and bullying going on by Franco Colapinto “fans.” I’m not talking about that here; it’s too big and serious for just now.
A quick round up of Alpine lately:
Esteban Ocon was jettisoned from the team with one race to go in 2024 because of a shunt
Jack Doohan was ushered in to fill the seat and it looked lovely, until…
The team signed Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver
Alpine, then led by Oliver Oakes, was adamant that Colapinto wasn’t lurking in every shadow to smuggle Doohan into a closet somewhere to take his seat, but also didn’t really say much to reassure Doohan
After 6 races Alpine swapped out Doohan for Colapinto
Oliver Oakes resigned
Flavio Briatore assumed control*
Flav says Colapinto had 5 races to prove himself, then…
Flav says he has no idea where this idea of Colapinto having 5 races came from
*This is a reference to the Collectors in Mass Effect 2. I’m not sure whose body Flav has jumped into, but I’m sure their eyes are flaring real nice just now.
Personally, I think this about-face on how long Colapinto may or may not have is due to his sponsors asking some pointed questions. If he is only in the car for 5 races, then they’ll only pay a fraction of the annual sponsorship, maybe?
Colapinto has been having a rough time of it in the 3 races he’s had so far this season. Not surprising given how unsupportive the team appear. And especially given how he has had no time running in this season’s car ahead of him jumping in at Imola. Sim work isn’t a substitute for on-track time.
(Thinking back to Doohan’s massive shunt at Suzuka because of him not closing the DRS, it kind of makes me think perhaps the team haven’t been too hot on instilling good habits from sim work either.)
And now, rumours are starting to swirl that Flav is looking at getting Mick Schumacher back onto the F1 grid from the Alpine World Endurance Championship team. Mick had a rocky time of it at Haas during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Partly due to his own bloody uncle, Ralf Schumacher, wading into the situation and shouting his own version of events.
But I think the most significant issue for Mick was being in a team that didn’t really know what to do with rookies. Haas had two for the 2021 season, and thanks to Events started by a particular dictator, found themselves quickly replacing one for the 2022 season with Kevin Magnussen. Not someone I would identify as a helpful teammate for a rookie.
My thoughts on Mick aside, the Alpine F1 team have two more reserve drivers, as well as Jack Doohan. There’s Paul Aron and Kush Maini:
Aron was previously in the Mercedes young driver programme and switched to the Alpine programme at the end of the 2024 season. He’s racing his second season in F2 this year.
Maini has been in the Alpine driver academy since the end of the 2023 season, and is mentored by Mika Hakkinen.
Naturally, Flav is thinking the grass is greener on the other side. When asked on the matter, Flav responded with:
“I don’t think that’s the question to ask here. Next question, I don’t want to talk about that.”
That doesn’t sound like great news for Aron and Maini.
Aren’t we all glad that Flav’s back in town? That team was looking way too much like a team righting itself after being in a storm for too long—and now the water is churning around it again!
That’s it for this edition of Formula Curious! Thanks for being here; your support means a lot to me.
And until next time, take care of yourselves!
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