The Alpine Driver Dilemma

It feels as if 2024 has only just started, yet every team has their eyes firmly focused on the coming years in Formula One; with arguably one of the most important features of a team being at the forefront of even the public eye - the driver lineup.

With each race ticked off of this 2024 season, BWT Alpine F1 Team seem to be a team increasingly likely to experience a change in this area.

It was only in Miami this year, the sixth race, that Alpine scored their first point of the year. Yes, just one. This is in contrast to the 35 points they scored after six races in the year prior, including a podium on the sixth round; that being Monaco, achieved by Esteban Ocon. Across the 2023 season, Alpine scored a total of 120 points and 2 podiums - not including Pierre Gasly's sprint race podium in Spa, Belgium. What has caused Alpine to experience such a steep decline over the winter break?

Change of leadership, lack of direction, driver rivalries and an under performing car. All of this drama within the team not only hurts them from a publicity point of view, but internally too; as at the end of the day, what drivers will want to stay at a team taking two steps backwards? This has called into question the security of their driver lineup for the 2025 season onward, with Alpine facing a strong possibility that they could end up losing 2 of their drivers - which sadly wouldn't be the first time. With this question being raised, who do I see fit to step into the black, blue and pink French outfit?

Possible Replacements:

Valtteri Bottas - The Finnish driver is likely to be dropped from what will be the Audi project in 2026, with Sauber already confirming Nico Hulkenburg as one of their drivers for 2025 onward. He is highly experienced, racing in Williams from 2013 - 2016, then being called up to Mercedes, achieving 10 wins and proving his raw pace against a peak Lewis Hamilton, then being dropped at the end of 2021 and driving for Sauber from 2022 - now.

This experience would be invaluable, helping Alpine develop their car; and Bottas' calm demeanor would lead to a relationship with less friction between whoever his teammate would be.

Zhou Guanyu - The Chinese driver currently races for Stake F1 team KICK Sauber, who i'll refer to as Sauber for the rest of this post. Although seemingly an odd choice at first glance, he would be a solid fit into Alpine. This is due to the fact he has prior experience within the team, as he used to be one of their Junior Drivers in Formula 2 before his promotion to what was Alfa Romeo Sauber in 2022.

He is a character many people in the team already know and have had a relationship with, so rekindling that spark between them would surely be easy. He is a safe pair of hands, being in his third season of Formula One, Although he has never been able to perform to the level of his teammate Bottas over the course of a season, he has still shown very impressive pace on his day and a strong ability to adapt to new conditions, proven by scoring a point on debut; resulting in him being a solid and consistent number 2 driver to either Ocon or Gasly depending on who leaves. A factor many people seem to not take note of is Zhou's influence on/with China. China is a huge automotive industry, which could be a huge possibility that Alpine could have a grasp of, expanding their influence and popularity globally.

Mick Schumacher - Mick Schumacher is already tied to Alpine, but not the F1 team. Currently, Mick Schumacher is part of the WEC (World Endurance Championship) team, driving the Alpine A424. This is obviously an incredibly strong connection, and with two years of F1 experience already under his belt, he wouldn't have as much of a learning curve as any rookie options.

However, Mick didn't take to his first two years in Formula 1 well, having high profile incidents of crashing the car and costing Haas millions in damage. However, due to his links and the data Alpine has with him, he remains a strong option if Alpine cannot grab anyone from the current F1 grid.

Gabriel Bortoleto - The Brazilian driver currently races for Invicta Racing in Formula 2, placing 5th in the standings after an impressive P2 in the Imola feature race, Again, a surprising choice but he's proving himself to be extremely talented, also winning the Formula 3 championship just the year prior. But why do I choose him over any of Alpine's own junior drivers in F2? Because they simply cannot prove themselves of being ready in their machinery. Victor Martins is driving for ART, and currently 18th in the drivers standings; however, this isn't a reflection of his skill, as he was the highest placed rookie just the year prior, finishing 5th in the drivers championship.

Being Brazilian, Bortoleto's following and fan base is huge, something that would be absolutely treasured by a team like Alpine, who want to expand their brand's popularity. Bortoleto is, however, affiliated with Mclaren making the signing much less likely to happen.