The first five flyaway races of the 2025 Formula 1 season are complete. Over 20,000 miles have been covered, starting in Melbourne with stops in Shanghai, Suzuka, Bahrain and Jeddah. Now, with one more round to go before the European leg begins, BWT Alpine Formula One Team heads to Miami reflecting on a start filled with both challenges and promise. Team Principal Oliver Oakes gives us his take on the season so far and what’s next for the team heading into round six.

Melbourne’s promise, washed away

The season opener in Australia was eagerly-anticipated. With hot weather and high hopes, race day then turned damp and unpredictable. Pierre lined up ninth on the grid and looked set for points until he ultimately crossed the line 11th, having run as high as third during a Safety Car period. For Jack, racing on home soil, the race ended prematurely after a spin into the wall on the damp track on the opening lap, which also caught out even the most experienced of hands.

Tough times in China and Japan

The next stop was Shanghai, with the added complexity of a Sprint weekend. Jack had a technical issue in FP1, cutting into valuable preparation time, while Pierre made strong progress on race day — gaining three places on the opening lap — but was later disqualified for a technical infringement after again finishing 11th.

In Japan, the team spent a few days in Tokyo before heading to Suzuka, but the weekend proved to be a challenge across the board. Grass fires disrupted running and Jack had an incident at Turn 1 at the beginning of FP2, thankfully coming away unscathed, prompting a remarkable overnight rebuild by the mechanics to get his A525 ready for Qualifying.

Pierre narrowly missed out on Q3 by just 0.05s and raced with a special helmet complete with Daruma doll illustration — a nod to his time racing in Japan in his junior career — but the luck didn’t come the team’s way as both cars finished outside the points in a race, which offered little to anyone to advance.

“The season started with the typical swings of Formula 1,” said Oliver. “Australia we were competitive, but walked away empty-handed with the rain and trials and tribulations, which was a bit frustrating because we were in the mix all race.

“We’ve found so far that the car is performing well and in the first few races there was a real mix of circuits. China did show some limitations and we were a lot happier in Japan, but it was one of those races where, where you qualified decided your outcome as it was a bit of a procession. We’re learning with the new car every week, but then it was clear to see in Bahrain it was a track that suited us…”

Breakthrough in Bahrain

The middle race of the triple header, finally brought some reward for the team’s efforts. In hot conditions, the car came alive and there was optimism all round from the beginning of practice. It was a special weekend too, as Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore celebrated his 75th birthday.

Pierre delivered a stellar lap in Q3, which became a fourth-placed grid slot following the penalties for Mercedes. Jack, too, came close to a Q3 appearance, just missing out by 0.058s.

With a race dominated by tyre strategy, both Alpine cars were running inside the top ten, but a misfortune in the timing of a Safety Car benefitted those drivers that had yet to stop. However, Pierre drove a gritty final stint — under intense pressure — holding off Max Verstappen before he finally yielded to the world champion on the final lap. Seventh at the flag and six points on the board was a fine reward after a difficult start to the year.

“Pierre built up to his point in Bahrain in the right way,” said Oliver. “Earlier in that weekend, at the end of FP2, we weren’t particularly competitive, we struggled on the soft tyre. But the work that went on overnight and the open conversation between Pierre and Jack really worked and helped us get those six points on race day.

“To give Jack credit, he’s learning well, feeling more confident and he’s had a good start to the season. I know Japan in FP1 caught him out a little bit, but in Bahrain in particular he was strong, and in the race he was doing a good job in the opening two stints, but was caught out by the Safety Car at the end.”

A bump in the road, but confidence remains

Unfortunately, despite topping the times in FP1 in Jeddah, Pierre was taken out of the race with a first-lap clash and Jack battled hard but could only manage 17th in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a tyre gamble did not pay off. While results didn’t go the team’s way last time out, Oliver remains upbeat about the car’s potential for the upcoming races.

“We know we have a pretty good car and we also know this is something of a transition year for us as well,” he says. “Not just new regs, but also on the power unit side. The main thing is that we’ve started the year with a strong group, the strategy has been good, as has the way we’ve worked together as a team.

“We’ve fundamentally had the same car since Melbourne, but you learn more when you start running the car on different tracks and in different conditions. I just think it’s really tight as well. Whether that’s getting out of Q1, there is not much in it at every race we’ve been at so far.”

Five races down, 19 still to go. The first chapter of 2025 has been a challenging experience, but the team has shown pace and resilience. Now it’s time for one last flyaway in the early part of the year — at the Miami International Autodrome — before the European stretch begins.