No team has experienced turmoil in the 2024 Formula 1 campaign quite like the Anglo-French Alpine outfit.
The Enstone-Viry squad started overweight and at the back of the field, prompting early season exits by former Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer in March.
David Sanchez came in to lead Alpine’s technical team, but the squad remained pointless until the sixth round in Miami, courtesy of a 10th-place finish for Esteban Ocon.
The team has only added 10 more points since, not befitting a works entry. About that…
Alpine’s on-track struggles have been met with off-track drama.
A needless team-mate collision instigated by Ocon on Lap 1 of the Monaco GP paved the way for his eventual planned departure for Haas next term.
Then, in Spain, Alpine brought in the controversial figure of Flavio Briatore as an advisor, as rumours ramped up it was planning to pull the plug on its F1 power unit production in Viry-Chatillon.
Ahead of the Belgian GP at Spa, Bruno Famin confirmed that the Renault Group no longer wants to produce its own F1 engines, that it will seek a customer deal with Mercedes and that he will step down as Team Principal at the end of August to prevent Viry going into meltdown.
This trifecta of developments came amid tactical miscues and reliability woe plaguing Ocon and Pierre Gasly out on track, compounding Alpine’s misery.
Gasly admitted after a pointless run out at Spa-Francorchamps that Alpine has to do better in the remaining 10 rounds of the season.
“We are not on top of what we should be, basically, and I know the guys can do a lot better than that,” he said. “It’s been a tough start of the year.
“I want us to do a lot better than that, so I think it’s important we regroup together and we make sure the second part of the year is better.”
Hitech founder Oliver Oakes has been named Famin’s successor and he has the unenviable task of preventing the Alpine ship from sinking further for the rest of the campaign.
“The team has talented people and excellent resources at its core, and I am confident that we can accomplish a great deal together during the remainder of this season and the longer term,” Oakes said upon his appointment.
Will Alpine’s incoming Team Principal survive long enough to see the squad transform from a works to a customer entry?
Discussion about this post