General
Alpine: unnecessary culture of judgement once again hinders success
- Ludo van Denderen
Would Pierre Gasly ever lie in bed at night thinking: 'What have I gotten myself into?' In any case, the plans were fine when the Frenchman signed a contract with Alpine. For now, they remain mostly intentions, given the French team's dramatic form in Bahrain. With Gasly and teammate Esteban Ocon on the last starting row and finishing at the back at the Grand Prix, there is a crisis at Alpine. The chances of a quick turnaround are not real.
Since Alpine - then under the Renault name - returned to Formula 1 in 2016, expectations have been sky-high. Not so much created by the outside world but imposed by Alpine itself. Ever since the comeback, the French have been voicing their desire to connect with the top. Just as often, they fail. "How come?", the company will ask itself internally.
Alpine lacks resolve
The answer is quite simple: Alpine cannot hold a line set over a long period of time. Time after time, team members in high positions are replaced, after which their successors do things slightly differently. There is no fixed structure, which is very important in Formula 1. Look at Red Bull Racing, for instance, where the most important people have (still) been in their positions for many years: Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko, Christian Horner.
Meanwhile, the list of departures at Alpine is immense: Frederic Vasseur, Cyril Abiteboul, Nick Chester, Marcin Budkowski, Alain Prost, Alan Permane, Pat Fry, Otmar Szafnauer and Laurent Rossi left in recent years - whether forced or not. In recent weeks, technical director Matt Harman, head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer and consultant Bob Bell also left. In almost all cases in recent years, Alpine then told them that they left "by mutual agreement".
However, people like Szafnauer and Rossi are known to have been harshly shown the door. And yes, others did indeed leave voluntarily, mostly because they could work elsewhere in Formula 1 - at a team that is actually making strides forward. Why Harman and De Beer left Alpine is unknown. Given the quality of the new F1 car, they seem to have chosen eggs before their money to leave themselves, because, in Alpine's checkout culture, they were undoubtedly going to be fired anyway.
Alpine needs patience
Meanwhile, Alpine has already appointed another three newcomers to its technical heart. Undoubtedly capable people, but they are going to run into the same problem as their predecessors: it takes time for them to settle in, so patiently waiting is not what Alpine is good at. It is almost a wait before the next people leave the French team.