Alpine F1 Team say they were caught off guard as rival teams kept developing their 2025 cars late into the season, while Alpine had already shifted focus to their 2026 project. They ran well early in 2025, but once they stopped upgrading the Alpine A525 around June to concentrate on 2026, their performance dropped significantly. Managing Director Steve Nielsen explained they chose to stop 2025 updates because resources like the wind tunnel are limited, and focusing on next year’s car seemed the better long-term strategy.