Two teams working ‘behind closed doors’ in the Formula 1 paddock to try and buy Alpine

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Alpine are a Formula 1 team in flux with another set of management changes this season after a major overhaul last year.

For the second campaign in succession, Alpine announced that they would be changing their team principal moving forward.

Otmar Szafnauer was moved on in 2023 and Bruno Famin will take up a new role within the Renault organisation after a tough start to the year that has seen Alpine score just 11 points before the summer break.

Hitech boss Oliver Oakes has been confirmed as the new team principal of the French team but that’s not the biggest hire the team have made this year.

Flavio Briatore’s arrival at Alpine as an advisor to CEO Luca de Meo surprised a few people in the paddock.

Briatore was once banned from Formula 1 for his role in ‘Crashgate’ but that has been overturned and he’s now regularly in the paddock working for Alpine.

However, a report from F1 Insider suggests that his presence might point to the fact that Alpine and Renault are seriously considering their future on the grid.

Renault’s F1 engine department is in serious doubt with senior personnel at Alpine chasing a deal to use Mercedes engines.

Two teams have now been discussed as potential successors to Alpine in the near future.

The first is Andretti who have been working to prove to F1 that they should be on the grid after being rejected at the beginning of the year.

Hitech are the other outfit interested in buying Alpine and may use their connection with Oakes to make a deal easier to negotiate.

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

Hitech and Andretti working ‘behind closed doors’ to potentially buy Alpine

The report from F1 Insider suggests Briatore was brought in by De Meo to get Alpine’s F1 project back on track and then look to potentially sell the team on.

Two teams are being talked about ‘behind closed doors’ in the F1 paddock who could potentially take over Alpine’s entry into the sport.

Hitech have connections to former Haas driver Nikita Mazepin’s family and Hitech have previously had applications to join Formula 1 rejected.

The other option is Andretti who may consider buying their way onto the grid after being told that they wouldn’t be allowed to enter F1 as an 11^th entrant in the next two years.

With Andretti’s back of General Motors as a power unit supplier and the Cadillac brand, they wouldn’t have any need to use the engine facilities at Viry-Chatillon who may not be working on Formula 1 engines for much longer anyway.

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

Alpine still need to decide their next driver line-up for the 2025 season

While the long-term future of Alpine looks far from certain, Oakes and Briatore have a much more pressing issue to address.

Pierre Gasly has been confirmed for next year after joining from AlphaTauri last season.

Gasly has bemoaned Alpine’s recent issues and will want to see some improvements before the end of the year and going into 2025.

Esteban Ocon will be heading to Haas next season and Alpine still haven’t decided who will be taking his place.

Damon Hill thinks Jack Doohan will be in the car in 2025 after a year of working as the team’s reserve and simulator driver.

Names like Mick Schumacher and Zhou Guanyu have also been floated but with so many other seats already filled, Alpine are under less pressure to make a quick decision.