‘Best case scenario’ for one F1 team is to split up current driver pairing ahead of 2025 season

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It is now believed that the ‘best case scenario’ for Alpine is to split up their current driver pairing ahead of the 2025 season.

A lot has been made of the relationship between Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, although they’ve kept most of their disagreements under wraps thus far.

However, a report from Ouest-France suggests that Alpine only want to keep one of their current drivers going forward.

After an exciting 2022 campaign, Alpine took a step backwards compared to their rivals last year.

Losing Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin and subsequently Oscar Piastri to McLaren was a big blow.

On paper, Pierre Gasly was one of the best options on the table for the team to come in alongside Ocon.

However, the pair weren’t on the friendliest terms and a crash in Australia that cost them both points didn’t help matters.

It’s now suggested that the best scenario for Alpine heading into 2025 is to only retain one of their drivers.

It’s not clear who they would rather keep, with both Gasly and Ocon heading into the final year of their contracts.

There has previously been a suggestion they could look to replace both Frenchmen, but that might cause too much upheaval during the final year of the current regulations.

Alpine ‘best case scenario’ for 2025 revealed

The report from Ouest-France suggests that Alpine want just one driver to stay with the team as the ‘friction between the two men’ is too much.

They also suggest that they ‘fail to work effectively together’ and have ‘heated exchanges’ with their respective engineers.

Ouest-France also believe that interim team principal Bruno Famin has been brought in to ‘cut corners and make unpleasant decisions’ which is an ominous sign for the team.

It’s expected that Famin will want to offer the role of team leader to either Ocon or Gasly which means the most likely scenario is that the other driver moves on in 2025.

That might not be the end of the world for either driver though.

They’ve both now been linked with a move to Audi ahead of their entry into the sport in 2026.

Gasly has been tipped for a ‘decent drive’ next season, while Ocon has a big fan in Eddie Jordan.

It’ll be interesting to see who Alpine might go for if they decide to make a change.

They could promote Jack Doohan from his role as reserve driver, or the Mika Hakkinen-backed Kush Maini.