If it was indeed Jack Doohan who obtained the second wheel held by Esteban Ocon until now, at Alpine F1, another driver was favored by Flavio Briatore. Indeed, the Italian had set his sights on Carlos Sainz, orphan of a seat, after the recruitment of Lewis Hamilton by Ferrari. Yes, but the two parties never managed to agree on the duration of the contract which could have bound them.
F1: Williams accepted what Alpine refused
Because at Alpine, we wanted to integrate Carlos Sainz into the project in the long term. Namely, 4 years since this is the duration that was proposed to the Iberian pilot, according to Flavio Briatore. On the contrary, the Spaniard did not want a commitment for more than two seasons. To keep the possibility of joining a top team as soon as the opportunity arises. Something that Williams Racing accepted. While Flavio Briatore preferred to decline.
« Either he believes in our program or he doesn't. I don't need a driver who costs me a lot of money and makes sure he can go to another team if the opportunity arises. » comments on the transalpine to our colleagues atcar motor and sport.
Hence this unfavorable outcome for Alpine which, under the iron fist of the former boss of Renault in F1, preferred to conserve its budget by betting on a young person (Jack Doohan), instead of spending very important to afford a top driver who already has the lead in a winning team. The future will tell us if this choice was the right one, on the one hand concerning the speed of the Australian driver and on the other hand, with regard to the medium-term future of Carlos Sainz with his new team.
