‘Thanks ever so much’… Why David Croft dislikes Alpine’s livery at the United States Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Alpine have endured a difficult season in Formula 1 and are languishing down in ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

The French manufacturer have underperformed and taken a step back from last season, only scoring their first points at May’s Miami Grand Prix.

Alpine are also very inconsistent and suffers from an underpowered Renault engine, which will cost Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon valuable lap time, particularly at power circuits such as Las Vegas.

They will also shut down their works engine programme ahead of the 2026 season and are likely to become Mercedes customers.

Alpine are running a new livery at the United States Grand Prix, inspired by Indiana Jones ahead of the release of an upcoming video game.

David Croft explained on Sky Sports F1 he is far from impressed by the new livery when commentating on the practice session, which is predominantly orange rather than the normal pink and blue.

David Croft doesn’t like Alpine’s livery as it is similar to the McLaren paint scheme

For this race at Circuit of the Americas, the Alpine is very similar to the McLaren with the orange colour scheme.

This could create a confusing situation if the two cars are close to each other on the circuit, although McLaren have been significantly quicker than Alpine this year.

Croft was also unimpressed by Sauber’s livery at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last season, as the Swiss team ran a black paint scheme, similar to Mercedes.

READ MORE: Where Oscar Piastri would ‘probably’ be racing in 2025 if he’d signed for Alpine instead of McLaren

The commentator explained that he isn’t happy to see Alpine’s orange livery with the usual BWT logos over the weekend.

He said: “What looks, ladies and gentlemen, like a McLaren. But it’s not. It’s the Alpine without the pink. So thanks ever so much to Alpine for their colour design for this weekend. We absolutely love it.

“Let’s give it a go. Not since somebody at Sauber thought, ‘here’s a really good idea, we’ll make our car look like a Mercedes’ in Vegas last year have I been less impressed with a colour scheme as this.”

Alpine have been unstable and underperformers this season

Alpine started the season terribly, locking out the back row of the grid at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

The underpowered car was also slightly overweight, which costs the team lap time at every circuit on the calendar.

Alongside the struggles on the track, they welcomed a new team principal in Oliver Oakes, who admitted joining the team mid-season has been tricky.

Becoming a customer team may offer them more stability in the future, buying an engine means they can put more focus on chassis and aero development.