ANDThursday was a full day in terms of announcements. Lance Stroll renewed his contract with Aston Martin, as Fernando Alonso’s teammate and Pierre Gasly, Early in the morning, he was announced as the pilot of Alpine for the next few years.
In the event of one of these movements, as happened with Checo Pérez two weeks ago, the looks turn immediately towards a pilot, Carlos Sainz, the only race winner this season (Australia) and last season (Singapore), who does not yet have a seat for 2025since Ferrari announced in January the arrival of Hamilton in the next season.
In your case, Gasly’s renewal could affect him closely, as Alpine is the option that is gaining strength among those on the table, as is now being discussed throughout the paddock. As you have been able to know BRANDthe arrival of Flavio Briatore is not so related to this final impulse, since those of Enstone, with administrative headquarters in Paris, They were present in the initial grid of possibilities since February.
The engine change
But there is a circumstance that the Spanish can finally decide to sign with the tricolor team and It is the engine change that seems to be planned for 2026. Renault would stop manufacturing propellant for F1, something that is an idea of president Luca de Meo. for become a Mercedes customer, with the unit that Aston Martin would vacate in 2026.
They probably don’t want to face that investment in changing to the 50/50 hybrid that year, when the electric part will reach approximately 475 HP of power (from the current 180) and prefer to continue as suppliers of other categories such as F2 and F3, which brings them a good economic benefit. But it is something that, according to this newspaper, It is not yet confirmed.
The engine of Viry-Chatllon is the least powerful of the current ones and MercedesIn return, It is predicted to be one of the strongest in 2026, as already happened to them in the first hybrid transition of 2014with eight consecutive years of unchallenged dominance. That part pleases Carlos as possible future bet, but it is not decisive, but rather a novelty in relation to what they knew from the beginning. There are other additional issues that also convince him.
Nothing decided, but after Silverstone
Carlos, personally, assured yesterday that there is nothing decided and that “it is a matter of having all the options in front of you andsit quietly, when we are not in a triple of races, “I’m going to have to make a very important decision in my life,” he told reporters. It seems that everything will be accelerated after the Silverstone race. The decision will not be made by him personally, nor by his father, nor his manager, Carlos Oñoro, and that is another important issue in the operation.
Lessons and disappointments
One thing is clear to him from this whole process, though. “The situation I’ve found myself in this year has made me learn a lot about Formula 1 in general. Talking to the teams has shown me that how hard this sport is and how little you sometimes have to believe in what people say at the beginning of negotiations and, above all, also trusting very few people in the battle, because it is really a very political sport,” he pointed out without naming names. Anyone can imagine who he is referring to, above all, of the biggest teams on the grid. In Two weeks will put an end to the whole soap opera.
