Rosberg: Mercedes nearly quit F1 running at the back like Alpine
F1 NewsSunday, 22 June 2025 at 12:44
Alpine F1 Team is the paddock’s slowest-moving implosion happening in real-time. Ten races into the 2025 Formula 1 season, and they sit last in the Constructors’ Championship with just 11 points. What's going on with the once-proud and glorious French team?
Heading to Round 11 of this campaign, in Austria next weekend, there is still no F1 team principal at Alpine. That role is 'filled' by Flavio Briatore in an advisory capacity. There's no apparent technical clarity, no known strategic direction.
And now, Luca de Meo’s sudden exit from the top job, following dozens of senior managers, consultants, advisors and other hangers-on in recent years, just adds more doubt about the company's commitment to the F1 project.
Briatore (the same man who presided over the infamous 2008 "Crashgate" scandal) is calling the shots as an “executive advisor”, as if it is his team. It is a move that says less about Alpine’s future and more about how desperately Renault is clinging to its last scraps of credibility in Formula 1.
Nico Rosberg, who lived through the early struggles of Mercedes when it was still a floundering works team, sees the writing on the wall. Speaking on the Sky F1 Show, the 2016 World Champion made it clear that instability like this kills teams.
Rosberg: We know how important stability is for the performance of a team
The 2016 Formula 1 World Champion said: “It's one of the weaknesses of Ferrari, also who've had a lack of stability as well, changing a lot of leadership positions all the time in the last years compared with Mercedes.
"If I walk into Mercedes today, the leaders from my time 15 years ago are still there in most of the key roles. It's really awesome to see that continuity, and at the same time, there's young talent coming through as well to complement.”
Alpine, in contrast, has chewed through senior figures at an alarming rate. Team principals, racing directors, CEOs and consultants have come and gone with no coherent vision or long-term structure left standing. Rosberg knows what this looks like from the inside because Mercedes once looked just as fragile.
“When I was at Mercedes and we were driving around last place, they were almost going to pull the plug every weekend because they're paying a lot of money and it's anti-marketing,” he explained. “It's marketing that is damaging the brand of Alpine and Renault if you're just driving around in last place.”
De Meo left Renault's proud Formula 1 legacy in ruins
That phrase, anti-marketing, cuts deep. In Formula 1, factory teams exist to win races and build brand strength. But right now, Alpine is failing on both fronts. The cars are slow, the project is rudderless, and the optics are damaging not just to the team but to Renault itself.
Rosberg also warned that the broader economic picture makes Alpine’s future even more precarious: “Also, in the face of the challenging environment for the automotive industry, where sales are plummeting. The shift to e-mobility is a struggle.
"The Chinese are coming and conquering more and more market share. Tesla is taking market share. The first thing that you cut is the marketing budget, and marketing the F1 team falls under the marketing budget,” Rosberg added.
With De Meo gone, Briatore in, and a boardroom staring at red ink, the existential question surrounding Alpine cannot be avoided. Renault once nearly abandoned Mercedes when results were poor and patience ran thin. Rosberg’s warning is clear. Alpine may be reaching that same breaking point now.
What future do you see for the Alpine F1 Team?
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