Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen has conceded that Team Enstone is not fighting for "good enough outcomes" in F1 this season, having turned its attention to 2026 earlier than its rivals.
The French squad finds itself at the foot of the F1 constructors' championship with three rounds remaining in the campaign.
On 22 points, all scored by Pierre Gasly, it is 40 points adrift of Stake in ninth, underlining the lack of performance seen from the A525 for much of the year.
"It has been a long and, at times, gruelling season for the team as we balanced racing along with the demands of developing a completely new car," Nielsen said ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix.
"That did mean our efforts in 2025 took a bit of a hit and, clearly, we are not competing in positions that warrant good enough outcomes."
Alpine has taken the highly unorthodox and unprecedented step of forgoing its works team status in 2026, opting to become a Mercedes power unit customer from the start of the new regulations cycle.
The hope and theory behind the decision is that it can fully focus its attention on its chassis and be thrust back to competitiveness under the power of the German marque.
"We will only know in Melbourne next year the result of that decision-making, and we continue to apply much of our focus to on-track this year as we aim to finish the season in the best manner possible," Nielsen added.
Whilst Gasly scored points at Interlagos for the first time since before the F1 summer break, his boss was keen to stress the team accepts the reality of its situation.
He added: "While that appears to be tenth place in the championship, a reality we accept, we will still give it our all to at least try to secure more points finishes at the next three events, like we did in São Paulo."
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