F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

Columnist says Alpine needs a Verstappen-calibre driver

RacingNews365 columnist Jan van der Burgt argues that Alpine needs a driver of Max Verstappen’s calibre to lead it forward. He is making a case for a type of driver, not reporting a transfer.

GPBeat · Newsroom29 Sept 2026, 12:36 · 1 min

In a column published on 29 September, RacingNews365’s Jan van der Burgt argues that Alpine needs an exceptional driver to make the most of its switch to Mercedes engines. He names Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli as examples of the calibre he has in mind.

Van der Burgt writes that Alpine is sixth in the 2026 constructors’ standings with 68 points. He considers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto quick on their day, but doubts either can lead the team in the way he believes it needs. The column also recounts earlier remarks by Flavio Briatore, who said he lacked the money for a driver such as Verstappen and praised him as the leading driver of the moment.

For Van der Burgt, changing engines is only part of Alpine’s task: he believes finding a driver who can lead the team would make the greater difference.

Sources 01

SOURCEBriatore mist type Verstappen hopeloos bij AlpineRacingNews365 Nederland · Source date as found: 2026-09-29

Source context

Briatore’s earlier remarks are relayed in Van der Burgt’s RacingNews365 column, rather than through a dated original interview.

Claims and supporting evidence 4

RacingNews365 identifies the piece as a column by Jan van der Burgt. Its argument is his opinion, not a statement by Briatore or an Alpine announcement.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Authorship and genre Published September 29, 2026; the page displays a relative publication time of 06:15. The page says “Vandaag”; the calendar date is established by the supplied publication and retrieval timestamps.

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Van der Burgt argues that Alpine lacks an exceptional driver around whom Briatore could build the team. He considers Gasly and Colapinto inadequate for that role and names Verstappen and Antonelli as examples of the type he has in mind. This is an assessment, not evidence of a driver move.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Columnist’s assessment of Alpine Assessment in the September 29, 2026 column. The claimed necessity of an exceptional driver, and the judgments about the current drivers, are the columnist’s interpretations.

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The column reports Alpine as sixth in the 2026 constructors’ standings with 68 points, and says it switched to Mercedes engines that season after ending its own engine development. These are figures and background reported by this source, not independently checked results in the retrieved material.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Performance and organisational context supplied by the column 2026 season, as described on September 29, 2026. The column provides no standings table or separate documentation for the organisational account. Its phrase about no victory being in sight is a judgment, not a measured result.

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According to the column, Briatore said months earlier that he lacked the money for a driver such as Verstappen and praised Verstappen as the current number one. The retrieved source is the column’s account of those remarks, not the original interview or recording.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Briatore quotation as relayed by RacingNews365 An unspecified date several months before the September 29, 2026 column. The original context and exact original-language wording are unavailable. The quotation does not establish a current recruitment effort.

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This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.