General
Shocking! They look like the worst team on the Formula 1 grid in '24
- Ludo van Denderen
Praising words from Esteban Ocon. The Alpine Frenchman talked about how 'productive' the three-day test had been, that it had been 'trouble-free from an operational point of view' and that the car was 'reliable'. According to Ocon, it was now a matter of analysing the data and seeing 'where we can make improvements'. However, one thing was missing from the driver's speech: a phrase that his Alpine was also fast.
Ocon probably knew that such a comment would be completely implausible. Indeed, if anything lingers from the three days of testing in Bahrain, it is that Alpine seems to have missed the mark completely. The French's bolide looked difficult to drive, seems too heavy and is not fast enough. It looks like Stake F1, Williams and Visa Cash App RB have things better together.
Alpine must reckon with blamage
Nobody should be surprised if Alpine battle for the last spots with Haas at the Bahrain Grand Prix in a week's time. That would be huge blamage for a factory team, which has been clamouring to connect with the top for years. Year on year, however, Alpine come to the conclusion that once again plank has been missed - in terms of power unit and car design - and more than regularly the executives within the team are put on hold.
Last year was no different: in the summer, team principal Otmar Szafnauer, CEO Laurent Rossi and Alan Permane were sacked (although Alpine announced at the time that the contracts had been terminated by mutual agreement). As a result, there had to be new leaders at the top of the company, and in Formula 1, it simply takes time for the pieces of the puzzle to fall together with new people.
Did Alpine misjudge their own performance?
Perhaps Alpine were sandbagging after seemingly doing slightly better in the second half of the season than before - although the differences were minimal. Possibly Alpine were under the impression that all was well and the 2024 season could be poised for further recovery. However, it seems that Alpine has taken a step back rather than forward.
McLaren had a similar test a year ago as Alpine are having now. The British team soon experienced that the bolides were not good enough to even compete in the midfield. Even before the first Grand Prix was run, they decided at Woking to build a b-spec car. A good decision in hindsight, as McLaren managed to work its way to the front during the second half of the season.
The emphasis here is on 'the second half of the season'. Alpine will surely realise internally that the first few months of the new season can be considered lost. Knowing the French company, this may mean that once again high-ranking figures will be removed from their positions. In that case, the cycle familiar with Alpine will start from scratch, as if the team would never learn. Either way, Alpine await troubled times. Again.