Briatore eager for Renault engine departure

      Flavio Briatore has expressed that he looks forward to bidding farewell to Renault’s factory engines at the conclusion of the season. Having previously overseen championship-winning times at the Enstone-based team with drivers like Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, the 75-year-old has returned to the team, now called Alpine, as a prominent advisor to Renault CEO Luca de Meo.

      One of his initial recommendations was to terminate the operations of the works engine, choosing instead to utilize customer Mercedes engines and gearboxes starting in 2026. Speaking in Bahrain on his birthday, the vibrant Italian was pleasantly surprised by Pierre Gasly's unexpected P5 qualifying result—this could finally allow the team to score its first championship points in 2025.

      "Without the engine deficit, we’d be on the front row," Briatore mentioned, as cited by Auto Motor und Sport. "Depending on the track, we lose three to four tenths of a second purely due to the powertrain," he added.

      After a disappointing 2024 season, Alpine's car showed notable improvements during winter testing but then fell short in Melbourne, Shanghai, and Suzuka. Briatore commented, "We weren’t as poor as we appeared. Our issue was that we never maximized the potential of the softest tire compound."

      He also noted that engineers were continually trying different methods to make up for the engine shortfall. "The experiments didn’t work," Briatore disclosed. "That’s why I informed the team before the weekend—’no more experiments. We’ll drive as we did in the tests’."

      Another significant concern on Briatore’s agenda is Jack Doohan, amid ongoing speculation that the Australian might be replaced by Franco Colapinto. While Gasly excelled in Bahrain qualifying, Briatore indicated that Doohan, who qualified P11, is having difficulty executing perfect sectors during a qualifying lap.

      "He still needs to improve on that," Briatore stated. "Jack is fast, but not yet consistent."