Alpine Race Preview: Spanish Grand Prix 2025

Round 9: 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
Race Date: Sunday, June 1

The BWT Alpine F1 Team heads to Barcelona for Round 9 of the 2025 Formula One World Championship, marking the final stop of a demanding triple header. This weekend, however, brings more than just racing. The Spanish Grand Prix serves as a special milestone as Alpine celebrates 70 years of performance, innovation, and competition at the highest level of motorsport.

Celebrating 70 Years of Alpine

Founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé in Dieppe, Alpine was born from a passion for racing and has since become a symbol of French performance engineering. The team’s history stretches from rally stages to Le Mans podiums and, today, continues in Formula One and the World Endurance Championship.

To honour its anniversary, Alpine is marking the occasion with a special A525 livery featuring the Alpine 70 Years logo. Drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto will also wear one-off race overalls and gloves in white with red and blue stripes—a proud nod to the brand’s French roots.

The new commemorative logo includes a stylised extension of the iconic A-arrow into the number 70, representing both heritage and future ambition. A red target symbol at its centre captures Alpine’s continued drive to take on new challenges in motorsport and beyond.

A Weekend of Intrigue: Technical Changes Take Effect

Beyond the celebratory atmosphere, this weekend carries added intrigue with the introduction of new FIA technical regulations aimed at limiting front wing flexibility. Effective from the Spanish Grand Prix onward, these changes tighten the permissible vertical deflection under load—reducing the allowable flex from 15mm to 10mm on the outboard wing sections and from 3mm to 2mm on the inner sections.

The shift requires a one-third increase in front wing stiffness under static load tests and is intended to curb aerodynamic advantages gained through excessive aero-elasticity. As teams bring updated components to comply, the competitive order could see subtle—but meaningful—changes.

For Alpine and others, Barcelona will offer a clearer picture of how these updates influence balance, downforce, and car setup across a circuit that tests a full range of performance characteristics.

Pierre Gasly: “We want to finish this triple header on a high”

Pierre Gasly heads into the weekend eager to rebound from a frustrating Monaco outing. An early retirement at the Nouvelle Chicane cut short his race, and the team is now focused on getting the most from the A525 at a track that offers a more complete performance test.

“We really have the aim as a team to be in a much better position than we were in Monaco,” said Gasly. “We qualified too far down and that meant it was going to be very difficult to make our way towards the points.”

“Hopefully this type of track – a more complete circuit than Monaco – will better suit our package. We have the mandatory technical directive to comply with, so we might see some small differences up and down the grid. On the circuit itself, I have always enjoyed driving in Barcelona. We’ve had some decent performances there in the past, so I remain positive.”

Franco Colapinto: “Let’s reset and aim higher in Spain”

After finishing thirteenth in Monaco, Franco Colapinto is ready to close out the triple header on a stronger note. The Spanish Grand Prix carries special meaning for the young Argentine, who expects strong home crowd support from local and travelling fans alike.

“We struggled with the pace of the car in Monaco and ultimately lined up too far back on the grid,” Colapinto reflected. “Although we were able to move up through the order, thirteenth place was the best we could extract from the race.”

Now turning the page, Colapinto is looking forward to racing at a circuit where overtaking is more viable and setup plays a bigger role in performance.

“I am looking forward to Spain this weekend. It was also my birthday this week, so it was great to have a couple of days to relax and recharge. The track is a more traditional circuit in comparison to Monaco, so the aim will be to get comfortable with the car quickly and extract a good result from Qualifying to set ourselves up nicely for Sunday.”

What to Watch This Weekend

• Alpine’s 70th Anniversary Celebrations: Special livery, driver overalls, and team branding mark a proud milestone for the French manufacturer.
• Response to Monaco: The team aims to rebound on a more complete and high-load circuit.
• Technical Regulation Shift: Front wing flexibility limitations may shake up performance, especially in qualifying trim and aerodynamic balance.
• Gasly’s Qualifying Pace: A strong Saturday could unlock a much-needed result for Sunday.
• Colapinto’s Home Support: With many Argentine fans expected in Spain, Franco will look to make the most of a track that should better suit the A525.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: Race Info

• Laps: 66

• Circuit Length: 4.657 km

• Race Distance: 307.236 km

• First Grand Prix: 1991

• Lap Record: 1:18.149 (Max Verstappen, 2021)

With its blend of high-speed corners, long straights, and technical middle sectors, Barcelona remains a key testing ground for teams and a vital circuit for development evaluation. This weekend will also be the first to run under new FIA regulations limiting front wing flex, which could shake up performance across the grid.

Alpine and Trak Racer: Performance Through Precision
As the Official Racing Simulator Supplier of the BWT Alpine F1 Team, Trak Racer is proud to celebrate 70 years of Alpine history alongside the team. From Dieppe to the digital world, Alpine’s pursuit of perfection continues through simulator training powered by Trak Racer’s elite hardware.

Train like the team. Race with purpose.

Explore the same simulator technology trusted by Alpine. Only at trakracer.com

Images are courtesy of the BWT Alpine Formula One team