Pierre Gasly has boldly entered the conversation for the Formula 1 drivers’ title, but his sights are set firmly on 2026, not the current season.
The 2025 campaign roared into life with a double-header in Australia and China, though Gasly’s Alpine team suffered a setback in the latter when their car was disqualified for being underweight.
Despite this, Gasly and the Alpine squad are already focusing on the future, with major power unit regulation changes looming in 2026 that could shake up the grid.
This year marks the final chapter for Alpine as a works team, as they have decided to end their powertrain programme. From next season, the Enstone-based outfit will switch to customer Mercedes engines, banking on the German manufacturer to deliver a potent package in 2026.
Mercedes famously dominated when the current turbo-hybrid rules began in 2014, and Gasly believes history could repeat itself.
The Frenchman has expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming changes, urging Alpine to shift their resources toward next year’s car rather than chasing short-term gains in 2025.
“Very interested (in what’s happening next year), because in ’26 I could be world champion,” Gasly said confidently to the media. “So that’s something I’m putting a lot of focus on.”
While fully committed to the current season, Gasly admitted the team’s strategy is already geared toward 2026. “Obviously, I’m fully dedicated and focused on ’25, but as a team, we know what’s on the table this year,” he explained.
“We know what’s on the table for ’26, so the strategy has already been put in place for next year. As I mentioned at the F1 launch, if it were down to me, I would just put all the guys and all the money towards next year.”
For Gasly, the difference between finishing sixth or ninth in 2025 pales in comparison to the chance of fighting for wins and podiums in 2026.
“Whether I finish eighth, ninth, sixth, seventh, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “But if next year we can fight for wins and podiums, that’s really meaningful.”
As Alpine plot their long-term ambitions, the next stop on the 2025 calendar is the Japanese Grand Prix, where teams will battle over 53 laps of the iconic 5.807-kilometre Suzuka Circuit on Sunday, 6 April.
