Alpine appear to have finally made their long-held interest in Carlos Sainz serious and could hijack Williams' bid to sign the Spaniard.
For some time Sainz has only really had two main options for a 2025 drive. His Ferrari career is coming to an end after the Italians signed Lewis Hamilton and, after some initial interest, his chances of joining either Red Bull or Mercedes disappeared.
That left the 29-year-old with a straight choice between Sauber, which will become the Audi works team from 2026, or Williams. Audi's interest stretches back to last year while the latter's approach was more recent, and it seemed Williams were on the verge of winning the fight for his signature.
There were whispers of a potential announcement over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. However, that was then delayed and now it seems another spanner has been thrown into the works by the emergence of a third option.
Alpine came into the season knowing both their drivers were out of contract at the end of it and Sainz has been on their longlist of potential replacements for months. But now, with Esteban Ocon definitely leaving, it seems their interest has finally turned into a genuine appetite to bring the Spaniard to Enstone.
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It is a path well-trodden for Sainz - he raced for the team back when it was branded as Renault between 2017 and 2018, before leaving for McLaren. And in Barcelona, there were public signs that Alpine may still hold hope that they can lure their former driver back into the fold.
At his first race weekend back on the Renault payroll after 16 years, controversial former boss and new top adviser Flavio Briatore was pictured speaking with the racer's rallying star father, Carlos Sainz Snr. And that was only one of several meetings between team leadership and Sainz's entourage in Barcelona.
Flavio Briatore, right, has been brought back to Alpine to help CEO Luca de Meo, left, improve the team's fortunes (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)It appears Briatore is a driver of this new direction in the search for a new driver, along with Renault CEO Luca de Meo, to whom the 74-year-old directly reports. Speaking to the media, though, he insisted finding a new driver is not currently one of his top priorities as he settles into his new role.
Before the on-track action in Barcelona, Sainz told reporters that he wanted to make a decision sooner rather than later, hinting at an announcement within the next two weeks. He said: "The latest is that a decision will be taken very soon. I don't want to wait any longer.
"I think it's getting to a point where it's taking space out of my head, for quite a few weeks and months now. It's time to make a decision and the decision will be taken soon. Hopefully, soon we will have things to talk about."
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