The Alpine disaster
In the Miami Grand Prix Alpine finally moved up its Constructors’ classification, scoring its first point of the year thanks to Esteban Ocon. A broth that allowed the French to break away from Sauber and Williams (still at zero) but clearly the overall opinion on the A524 is still extremely negative.
The changes of 2023
Among the three teams, the most negative surprise of this start of the season is certainly represented by Alpine, in a clear crisis of results and with a car like theA524 who, in qualifying, even struggled to get into Q2. Already last year, problems were glimpsed not only of a sporting nature (despite two podiums achieved), but also with the sensational upheaval that occurred on the eve of the Belgian GP, with the dismissal of Alan Permane (Sports Director), Pat Fry (Technical Director) and the Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer. It was the former Aston Martin who took over Bruno Faminwho still occupies this position today.
Szafnauer replies to Famin
Recently, the vice president of Alpine Motorsport indicated that today’s car was the result of the previous management. An accusation Szafnauer did not accept: “I and Alan (Permane) left in July, and after we left they started work on the following year’s car. For the uninformed, it can be said that all these problems were caused by these guys. I don’t think so.”.
Szafnauer returned to the attack Renault on the ability to fully understand the challenge of winning in F1: “From what I’ve seen, no – he added – I think the best thing for Renault, but also for other major car manufacturers that have racing in their DNA, is to don’t get involved. Unlike a car company you have to leave it to the experts. The only similarities between an F1 car and an automobile are four wheels and a steering wheel, but the rest is different. They call them ‘cars’, but the technological development is different, as is the level of engineering and the education of engineers. They are very bright, have received a top-notch education in Formula 1 and, above all, they love this sport, which is why they are motivated to win. This doesn’t happen in automotive companies.”
