Alpine struggled from the gate during the 2024 Formula 1 season. The 2024 campaign challenger, the A524, was overweight and had no performances earlier this year. This saw Esteban Ocon and Pierre Guthrie behind the grid at Bahrain Grampurin at the start of the season. Alpine has dramatically turned the star down, finishing sixth in the Constructors Championship, but hopes to get off to a better start in 2025.
The first steps of that journey have been completed.
Alpine placed the 2025 challenger A525 through a shakedown session in Bahrain ahead of preseason testing later this week. Both Guthrie and new employee Jack Doohan appeared to be as happy with the outcome as the team's principal, Oliver Oaks.
“It's a great feeling to be back on track and drive the A525 for the first time. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this car and all the hard work that was put into preparation for this season,” he said after the team's session. Guthrie said in the report.
“It's just driving on a shakedown so I'm not driving the car to the fullest, but the initial feeling feels smooth and I look forward to running properly in the official advance later this week. Seasonal test. I have to say, the new colors look really cool so I hope everyone enjoys seeing the A525 in action.”
With the rise in pink, Alpine's 2025 colouring debuted on the F1 75 Live to rave reviews from F1 fans.
“We had a good first day here in Bahrain and I'm sure everyone on the team is really excited to be back and ready to start the season,” Duhan said. “This is my first time driving a shakedown day. It's a great experience to drive on track, especially in a photo car! The car felt better, so I was devoting myself to Enstone and his dedication to preparing for 2025. Thank you to everyone at Viry-Châtillon.
“I'm really excited to start Wednesday and pre-season testing. In a busy three days, there's a lot to do to develop the A525 ahead of the start of the season. It will be.”
Oakes explained that he views the A525 on the track as a “moment of pride.” The Alpine boss is set to take part in his first F1 preseason experience at the helm that took over during last summer's shutdown.
“It's always a moment of pride when a new car is on track for the first time to all of the Enstone and Viry-Châtillon who struggled to develop the A525 earlier this season,” Oakes reported. “Despite the cloudy and strong gusts of wind, we had a good day in Bahrain, completing a 200km split between Pierre and Jacques. Before a busy three-day test later this week, we had a good day. It is important to provide them with the first match and both have the first feeling at the wheel.
“It's certainly true that there are multiple areas where we are interested in continuing to learn and advance. We look forward to continuing our efforts with Jack driving the morning on Wednesday and Pierre driving in the afternoon.”
Alpine also released a test schedule on Monday, Doohan will be in the cockpit for his first session on Wednesday, and Guthrie will continue in the afternoon. The veteran driver gets his morning slot on Thursday, followed by Doohan, and the team will return to their schedule on Wednesday, the final day of the Test.
