Alpine’s Surprising Step Forward

Alpine delivered one of Formula One’s biggest surprises at Monza when Pierre Gasly took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix. It was the first pole in the short history of the French team, and it disrupted a familiar pattern in which Mercedes or McLaren usually claimed the front of the grid.

Gasly achieved the result without a tow from his teammate Franco Colapinto. The performance therefore looked less like a lucky break than the product of Alpine’s steady work. Reaching the podium will be a different challenge, but the pole position showed that the team is moving in the right direction.

The result also strengthened the case for Flavio Briatore’s leadership. The Italian took the reins in 2025 after Oliver Oakes resigned, having first joined Alpine as an adviser in 2024. He has brought major sponsorship, including Gucci, tightened control inside the team and helped Alpine move ahead of Haas, Audi, Aston Martin and even Ferrari in performance.

Alpine, built on the foundations inherited from Renault, has regularly placed at least one of its two cars in Q3 this season. It now stands as the sixth force on the grid and sits only three points behind Racing Bulls. The team also has a Mercedes engine, two strong drivers and more money to develop the car, factors that could make it a genuine dark horse in 2027.

Briatore remains a divisive figure. Critics see him as part of Formula One’s successful but shadowed past, and his reputation still carries the weight of the 2008 Crashgate scandal. Supporters instead view him as proof that a team needs clear, forceful leadership that provides both direction and resources. At Monza, Alpine offered its clearest evidence yet that his approach may be working.