Alpine have endured a largely miserable start to the 2024 Formula 1 season. And many would trace their current woes back to last summer.
In July, the team sacked CEO Laurent Rossi, team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane. Predictably, the departure of three of the most senior figures sparked an exodus.
Szafnauer has previously blamed these ‘bad decisions’ for the team’s predicament. He feels they’ve created an atmosphere of instability that has inevitably filtered down to the race track.
Across the first five races of the campaign, neither Pierre Gasly nor Esteban Ocon were able to score a point. The Enstone outfit bolted on an upgrade package in China, and Ocon was finally able to break their duck in Miami as he finished 10th.
That lifts them off the bottom of the constructors’ championship and ahead of Williams and Sauber. But they lost further ground to Haas and RB, now on seven and 19 points respectively.
Alpine have suffered perhaps the biggest drop-off any team on the grid in 2024. They’re coming off a season in which they racked up 120 points and finished sixth in the championship.
They’ve performed so poorly in recent months that there’s even been talk of a sale. However, an Alpine spokesperson has rejected those rumours.
Otmar Szafnauer far from impressed with Alpine despite first points
Speaking on the Racing News 365 podcast, Szafnauer offered his verdict on an improved showing for Alpine and Ocon in Miami. He doesn’t believe it’s anything to get excited about.
He pointed out that, at the same stage last year, they were scoring a podium at the Monaco Grand Prix. And he doesn’t expect to see the team produce the kind of McLaren-esque turnaround that could see them scoring big results later in the season.
“For me, that’s not a lot,” he said. “Last year, when [we had] all those seniors that have now left, I think we scored six points.
“We left Miami with six points in the bag, we went to Monaco and I think in Monaco we scored 24 [21] points. Yeah, they’re struggling, I can’t see them doing what McLaren have done.
“Going to Monaco and scoring 24 points this year, or Imola? I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Lewis Hamilton congratulates Esteban Ocon as he escapes Pierre Gasly disaster
Ocon will feel he’s been getting the most out of the tools at his disposal this season. After the race in Miami, former Mercedes colleague Lewis Hamilton recognised his achievement in parc ferme.
It was a race that so nearly ended in disaster for Alpine as their two drivers went head-to-head through the tight chicane on lap one. Martin Brundle couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.
Ocon took advantage of a virtual safety car midway through the race to make his one and only pit stop. There was, then, an element of fortune in his result, but Alpine wouldn’t have even been in a position to take those opportunities in the early races.
Still, if they can’t make significant improvements before the end of the year, they may struggle to convince their drivers to stay. Gasly and Ocon are already considering their options elsewhere for 2025 as they approach the end of their contracts.
The post ‘That’s not a lot’: Otmar Szafnauer aims fresh dig at Alpine despite Esteban Ocon's points finish in Miami appeared first on F1 Oversteer.