Flavio Briatore spotted chatting to rival F1 team principal amid Alpine power unit talk

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The Hungarian Grand Prix simply couldn’t have gone any worse for the Alpine F1 team.

Esteban Ocon was well off the pace at the previous race in Silverstone but at least he took the start with Pierre Gasly forced to retire the car after the formation lap.

Alpine started the season in awful fashion, stuck at the back of the grid at the first race in Bahrain.

Things have slowly improved with both drivers having scored points this year – something that can’t be said at Sauber or Williams – but while the manufacturers around them take steps forward, they’ve stood still.

The team had an absolute nightmare in qualifying on Saturday after Sergio Perez brought out a red flag when he crashed during Q1.

Alpine decided not to send either driver out in changeable conditions and rued their decision as they saw every car around them improve their time.

Ocon and Gasly were set to start on the back row of the grid together before the team decided to start Gasly from the pit lane.

Gasly’s recent luck got even worse as he was once again forced to retire due to a technical issue, while Ocon could only finish ahead of Zhou Guanyu on the road.

Speaking on the Pit Pass Podcast, journalist Julianne Cerasoli was talking about what new special advisor Flavio Briatore was doing behind the scenes in Hungary.

Alongside team principal Bruno Famin, the pair were spotted talking to Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Alpine are considering abandoning their Renault power units from 2026 and becoming a customer team.

Red Bull will be building their own engines by then making the prospect of the two teams working together very intriguing.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore and Bruno Famin spotted talking to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner

Talking about what she spotted in the paddock, Cerasoli said: “Speaking of Alpine, I saw Briatore meeting Horner and entering the F1 motorhome together.

“And they were also seen at Red Bull with Bruno Famin, so Horner, Briatore and Bruno Famin who is Alpine’s boss.

“Since he arrived, Briatore has been pushing for Alpine to give up on Renault’s engines and become a customer.

“And Red Bull will potentially have engines to sell in 2026. Alpine started a conversation with Mercedes HPP in April during the Chinese Grand Prix, so they might be checking out the options to see what they’re going to do, but that’s for 2026.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Alpine’s power unit could have an impact on their 2025 driver line-up

After another disastrous race, Alpine will be hoping it doesn’t impact their efforts in the driver’s market.

Pierre Gasly is already committed to next year although if his reliability issues continue then he may be questioning that decision.

Ocon is already confirmed to be leaving the team, so Alpine need to find a replacement.

There has been talk of Alpine making an improved offer to Carlos Sainz ahead of his Ferrari contract expiring.

The allure of Mercedes engines was mentioned in negotiations with Sainz and it’s hard to know how important that is to the Spanish driver or whether using Red Bull’s power units instead would have any impact on his thinking.

Ultimately, the three-time race winner appears to be in no rush to make a final call on where he ends up in 2025.

That may force Alpine to look at alternative options, although they appear to be in no rush in that regard.