Briatore dismisses the title of 'killer' associated with Jack Doohan.

      Flavio Briatore has not ruled out the possibility of Alpine making a mid-season driver change in 2025. The bold Italian currently serves as a team advisor, reporting to Renault CEO Luca de Meo, who acknowledged at the launch of the team’s 2025 car: "Let’s be honest, Flavio is the boss."

      Briatore has openly taken credit for the decision to switch to customer Mercedes engines for 2026 and stated he "fought hard" to secure Franco Colapinto on loan from Williams for the upcoming years. "To win, you need everything to be competitive, and the engine wasn’t competitive," the 74-year-old commented. "Anyone in my position would have chosen between Mercedes or Ferrari, and I opted for Mercedes. I returned to win races, and to do that, you need the best."

      His notion of the "best" also extends to the drivers, with Pierre Gasly currently secure in his position. Briatore remarked, "I didn’t know Gasly, but he had five or six fantastic final races. It was positive to place Jack (Doohan) in Abu Dhabi to give him another race of experience." However, it's rookie Doohan, 22, whose seat could be under serious threat from Colapinto—potentially after just the first five races of 2025.

      "No, no," Briatore responded. "It will be more than five. I’m joking," he added with a smile. "We’ll see. First, we’re going to start the season. I’m not ruthless; I just want the best drivers possible. I’ve represented Fernando Alonso for 23 years, which shows I support drivers who meet my expectations."

      Regarding Alpine’s newly-unveiled 2025 car, Briatore emphasized: "I need someone fast who can win a race. I am not advocating for Colapinto," he clarified. "We have three reserve drivers. (Paul) Aron and Colapinto are both very fast. Jack has performed well in testing, and Gasly did an excellent job last year. We will start the season and then evaluate our options. If not this year, then next year. Of course, we seek talent, but everyone does, as talent makes it easier to secure world championships. We experienced this with (Michael) Schumacher and Fernando—the top drivers make a difference, and I strive to ensure we have the best possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s Colapinto, Paul, or Jack."

      Meanwhile, Alpine’s new livery for 2025 is much more vibrant compared to the previous year's predominately black carbon design. "The car is filled with sponsor stickers," Briatore admits. "The engineers complain that the car is too heavy, but I remind them that removing the stickers means losing funding."