Bottas could jeopardise Cadillac deal with Alpine switch

Jul.3 (GMM)  Valtteri Bottas has been advised to think carefully before jumping at a potential mid-season return to Formula 1 with Alpine.

The French outfit continues to face instability and underperformance in 2025, with the latest internal shake-up sparked by the unexpected departure of Renault CEO Luca de Meo — the figure who brought Flavio Briatore into the fold as his executive F1 advisor.

With team principal Oliver Oakes now also gone, Briatore has become Alpine’s acting although unofficial boss.

“Briatore insists he will continue to fulfill his role until 2029, under slightly modified conditions,” Auto Motor und Sport reports.

“He must now report directly to Renault president Jean-Dominique Senard,” added journalist Michael Schmidt. “He, too, is said to be committed to motorsport.”

There is even talk that Alpine could return to the Renault name from 2026.

For now, Briatore’s bigger concern is the team’s on-track performance — or lack thereof. He believes the car has Q3 potential, but Franco Colapinto, his young protégé, has failed to deliver.

Amid rumours of further changes, Briatore reportedly held a half-hour meeting with Toto Wolff in Austria, exploring the idea of bringing in Mercedes reserve driver Bottas — a ten-time grand prix winner — on loan.

But Bottas, 35, is also believed to be on the verge of signing a long-term deal with Cadillac, who will debut in 2026.

“If Bottas gets into Alpine now and (Pierre) Gasly gives him a beating every week, he can forget about that Cadillac deal next year,” Dutch commentator Olav Mol told Ziggo Sport.

“He’d definitely have to perform, otherwise he’d be completely finished in Formula 1.”

Still, some insiders believe Bottas may have already signed the Cadillac deal.

“Then it would matter less,” Mol said. “Then it’s a nice intermediate station.”

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos believes there may be financial motivation behind Alpine’s interest in Bottas.

“Don’t forget that Alpine will have Mercedes engines next year,” he noted. “So Alpine could be saying ‘We’ll let Bottas drive now, then we want a discount on the engines next season’.

“In the end, that’s just doing business at a high level.”

As for Colapinto, Doornbos is unimpressed with the 21-year-old’s trajectory.

“He came into Williams with a bang, but now he’s only causing damage,” he said.]]>