Alonso to Alpine Rumor Hits Briatore Reality Check

Fernando Alonso’s mooted return to Alpine in 2027 remains unconfirmed paddock speculation, and the stronger signal right now is that Alpine is focused on improving its car rather than making an immediate star-driver play.

That message came from Flavio Briatore at the FIA press conference on the Friday of the Monaco Grand Prix, where he made clear that driver spending is not his first priority. Alpine, he said, is still trailing too far despite sharing an engine benchmark with its rivals. “McLaren has the same engine as us, Mercedes too, and we are six or seven tenths behind,” Briatore said. “So we are improving, but we are not improving as I want. This is the problem we have at this moment.” He then added the line that cuts most directly across the Alonso rumor: “The driver, for me, is the last part, it is the last step. If you have to make the financial effort, you have to make the effort when you have the possibility to win.”

That does not stop the speculation. Reports have linked Alonso with a fourth spell at Enstone as part of an ambitious 2027 Alpine project tied to Gucci as title partner and Mercedes power units from 2027. But the same rumor also runs into Alpine’s current driver picture, with Pierre Gasly already under contract and viewed internally as a consistent performer.

A separate report points even more clearly toward continuity, saying Alpine’s present intention is to keep Franco Colapinto alongside Gasly in 2027. Colapinto is described as the leading candidate to stay as the team pushes for stability in its lineup, and his recent form has strengthened that case. He has scored 16 points so far and, despite losing two places to a yellow-flag penalty in Barcelona, was still cited as showing the kind of competitiveness he had also displayed in Miami and Montreal.

That makes Alonso’s side of the story look no firmer than it did when the rumors began. MARCA reported that Aston Martin sees the Alpine talk as “rumors and speculation,” and described Alonso’s relationship with his current team as “extremely good.” The same report said Aston Martin has even discussed Alonso as a future ambassador, underlining that it does not see concrete signs of a switch at this stage.

Alonso has offered no clarity yet. During the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend, he repeatedly said, “I’ll decide in the summer,” leaving open whether he stays in Formula 1, retires, or chooses between rival 2027 projects.

For now, that leaves the central point unchanged: Alpine may be part of the noise around Alonso’s future, but Briatore’s own comments suggest the team believes its next step is to close the performance gap first, while its current lineup planning appears to favor Gasly and Colapinto over a headline move.