Pierre Gasly qualified first for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Saturday, his first pole position in six years and Alpine's first since the team rebranded from Renault in 2021. The lap came on the same circuit where Gasly last took pole in 2019, then driving for Toro Rosso. This time he was aided by Alpine's reintroduction of a folding rear wing, a device the team shelved earlier this season after inconsistent results.
The folding wing, which reduces drag on Monza's long straights by allowing the rear element to flatten under load, was part of a broader aerodynamic package Alpine brought to Italy. The team had tested the concept in pre-season but abandoned it after correlation issues between wind tunnel data and track performance. Technical director Matt Harman signed off on the revised version three weeks ago, following CFD work that addressed the original's stability problems at high yaw angles. Gasly's pole lap was 0.087 seconds faster than McLaren's Lando Norris in second.
The timing matters because Alpine is in the middle of a structural review. Team principal Bruno Famin announced in July he would step down at the end of the season, and the team has interviewed at least four candidates for the role, including former Sauber boss Fred Vasseur, who left for Ferrari in 2023, and current Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko's protégé Guillaume Rocquelin. Alpine is seventh in the constructors' championship with 49 points, trailing Aston Martin by 32 points and RB by 18 points. Each position is worth approximately $10 million in prize money. A strong result at Monza—pole converts to a podium roughly 38 percent of the time at this circuit—would validate the technical department's calls at a moment when the org chart is being redrawn.
Sponsor conversations are running in parallel. BWT, Alpine's title sponsor since 2022 on a deal worth roughly €15 million annually, has a performance clause that allows renegotiation if the team finishes outside the top five for two consecutive seasons. Alpine finished sixth in 2023 and is on track to finish seventh this year. BWT's CEO Andreas Weissenbacher was in the Monza paddock on Saturday wearing a pink shirt, Alpine's signature color under the partnership, and was seen walking the grid with Famin and Renault Group CMO Arnaud Belloni. The timing of a pole position ahead of those conversations is not lost on anyone.
Gasly's contract runs through 2026, but his management team at ART Grand Prix has been in contact with Aston Martin and Mercedes about 2027 options since June. A pole position raises his stock, but it also raises the question of whether Alpine can build around him or whether this becomes the data point he uses to justify a move. His teammate Esteban Ocon is already leaving at season's end, headed to Haas on a $4 million deal. Alpine has not yet confirmed Ocon's replacement, though Jack Doohan, the team's reserve driver, is the presumptive choice.
The folding wing itself is not new technology—McLaren ran a version in 2022, and Red Bull tested one in 2021—but its return signals Alpine is willing to take aerodynamic risks again after a conservative first half of the season. The team brought only one major upgrade between Bahrain and Silverstone, while McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes each brought three. Harman's decision to prioritize Monza, a low-downforce outlier on the calendar, suggests the team is hunting one-off results rather than building a consistent development curve. That approach can win races. It rarely wins championships.
Watch whether Alpine brings the wing to Las Vegas and São Paulo, both low-drag circuits, or whether this was a Monza-specific gamble. Harman is expected to present a 2025 development roadmap to Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo in mid-September. Watch also whether Gasly converts pole to a podium on Sunday. If he does, Famin's successor inherits a team with momentum. If he does not, the pole becomes a footnote in a season of missed opportunities.
Renault's board meets in Paris on September 24 to review Alpine's F1 program. A strong Italian GP result buys Harman and the technical team credibility ahead of that meeting. A weak one accelerates the timeline for change.
The takeaway
Alpine's folding wing gamble delivered pole at Monza; now the question is whether one lap changes sponsor talks, technical leadership, or Gasly's 2027 plans.
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