by Alex Johnston, Topher Smith, Linus O’Howell & Tilly Measures
Pierre Gasly has been confirmed as Alpine’s number one driver for 2025 and onwards, but as the French team prepares for life after Esteban Ocon - who himself is yet to find a place on the 2025 grid - the laidbackraceblog team are debating who should take that second seat as Alpine seek to fix their slightly fractured team. Tenuous links to employing a Mercedes Benz power unit in their car may also throw a spanner in the works for Bruno Famin’s choice of driver.
Alex’s choice
Theo Pourchaire
Right, hear me out. Theo Pourchaire has had very mixed fortunes of late, through no fault of his own.
Unlucky not to be seated in F1 on the back of a 2023 F2 championship winning season he attempted to go to the Japanese Super Formula championship, which recently helped Liam Lawson prepare for his five race stint in F1 with (then) Alpha Tauri, before IndyCar’s Arrow McLaren came calling.
📸 Pourchaire gave his Super Formula drive up when he moved to IndyCar.
Pourchaire was announced as the replacement for injured David Malukas until the end of the season, performing admirably in another different series before being unceremoniously dumped by Zak Brown’s team in favour of Le Mans LMP2 winner Nolan Siegel.
📸 Pourchaire is one of four different drivers to be announced as the driver of the number 6 McLaren this season alongside Malukas*, Callum Ilott and Siegel.
*Malukas was confirmed as their driver before the season but a wrist injury denied him the opportunity to race for Arrow McLaren.
We’ve been hearing Pourchaire’s name so long he feels like he’s been around forever, but he’ll be just 21 when the 2025 F1 season begins, so for Alpine he represents a smart choice as not only another French driver which helps the team maintain their identity, but also as a junior formula champion and young talent that could have some serious longevity with the team if he’s successful - they just have to first wrestle him from Audi, who themselves require a second driver and the ‘circling like sharks’ IndyCar teams impressed by his McLaren performances. Decisions, decisions for the Frenchman.
Topher’s choice
Mick Schumacher
Maybe not everyone's first choice, but I am a firm believer that Schumacher deserves a fair crack of the whip in Formula 1.
Nepotism aside, this is a guy who won both Formula 3 and Formula 2, putting him in the same company as the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri. This earned him a graduation to F1 with Haas, but let's be honest here in that that car was a handful to keep control of.
📸 Schumacher celebrates his Formula 2 title.
The German has a link to Alpine already with his current WEC programme, while there could soon be a second link should the reports about Alpine taking on Mercedes engines come to fruition.
While I accept that Schumacher might not be Alpine's top choice, I think he is someone who should be seriously considered given his impressive junior résumé.
📸 A series of expensive crashes - notably in Jeddah and Monaco - are ultimately what is likely to have curtailed Schumacher’s F1 career, at least for now.
Linus’s choice
Jack Doohan
Whilst there are plenty of decent drivers out there, for me, Jack Doohan is the right pick for Alpine heading forward.
Firstly, Doohan is a strong driver. He finished second in the championship in his second year in FIA Formula 3 and he followed it up by finishing third in his second full season in F2.
Doohan has also been serving as Alpine’s reserve driver in Formula 1, and it could also be quite important for Alpine to promote Doohan because they have a pretty bad track record at utilising their young talent properly.
📸 Doohan has taken part in several Alpine tests and is due to take part in further FP1 sessions this year. Is the answer for Alpine?
Carlos Sainz has been rumoured, and if the Enstone-based team can get him then they absolutely should. However, I think that that is very unlikely and Jack Doohan is the right man for the job!
Tilly’s choice
Carlos Sainz
Alpine has thrown a curveball in the Formula One 2025 driver market with a renewed bid to sign Carlos Sainz to partner the newly re-confirmed Pierre Gasly.
Previously, Sainz had narrowed his choices down to Audi and Williams. However, Alpine has never completely been out of the running and has kept the door open. With Flávio Briatore joining Alpine as executive advisor, a renewed push has been made to sell Sainz on the team’s ambitious plans for the future.
Although this doesn’t guarantee Sainz’s return to the team he spent a tricky year and a bit with, it has re-emerged as a serious possibility. The move would mark a significant shift in Sainz’s career trajectory, bringing him back to a team where he had mixed results but also demonstrated considerable potential.
📸 Could Sainz head back to Enstone after a previous stint with Renault?
Alpine’s aggressive pursuit of Sainz highlights their determination to become a frontrunner in the 2025 season. Sainz’s experience and skill could be pivotal in driving the team’s development forward. With Briatore’s influence and the promise of a competitive car, Alpine aims to convince Sainz that their project aligns with his ambitions.
📸 Briatore has returned to F1, is he the key to bringing success back to Enstone?
Rumors of this potential move have generated considerable buzz within the F1 community, as fans and analysts speculate on the implications for the driver market and team dynamics. Sainz’s decision will not only affect his career but also the strategies of other teams eyeing top talent for the upcoming season. As the 2025 grid continues to take shape, Sainz’s next move remains one of the most anticipated decisions in the paddock.
📸 Image credits: ESPN, Formula Motorsport Limited, Alpine F1 Team, ART Grand Prix, NTT IndyCar Series, Theo Pourchaire.
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