17/09/2025 15:30
Alpine executive adviser and de facto team principal Flavio
Briatore has revealed that Sergio Perez called him to enquire about
his second seat plans before signing with Cadillac. The six-time
grand prix winner will return to F1 next season with the fledgling
American squad, but reached out to Team Enstone shortly before
signing on the dotted line with General Motors-backed operation.
Whilst Pierre Gasly has impressed at the French team since joining
at the start of the 2023 F1 season, finding a team-mate for the
29-year-old has proven more difficult. Relations with Esteban Ocon
and the team broke down last season, and he left for Haas with one
round remaining of the campaign. Jack Doohan was drafted in from
the junior programme to replace him, but the Australian's future
never looked certain, especially given Briatore's well-established
interest in Franco Colapinto. He was ultimately replaced by the
Argentine six rounds into the year, but the 22-year-old has
struggled to adapt to life at Alpine. Although he has shown flashes
of the pace he displayed in his nine-round stint at Williams last
term, he has broadly failed to live up to Briatore's expectations.
Things have improved slightly of late, and his current trajectory
could yet save him, but his underperformance - and his boss's
openness about it - has fed the F1 rumour mill. Both Perez and new
team-mate Valtteri Bottas were closely tied to the second seat, but
Briatore insists the latter was never in the picture for next year,
although he does believe the speculation paid dividends for the
Finnish driver. "I never spoke to Bottas about 2026," the
75-year-old told German publication Auto, Motor und Sport . "I
think the rumours that he could drive for Alpine helped him sign a
contract with Cadillac." However, it transpires that the links to
the Mexican driver were significantly more concrete, despite the
35-year-old being on the verge of agreeing terms with Cadillac.
"Perez called me," the flamboyant Italian disclosed. "He asked me
what our plans were, but at the same time, he said that he was
close to reaching an agreement with Cadillac. "I couldn't offer him
anything at the time," he added in conclusion.
