Alpine 'Trying To Be Humble' About Their 2023 Car

Friday, 05 January 2024 at 04:00

Alpine's technical director Matt Harman said his team's 2023 car - A523, had some really good elements that he is trying to stay humble about.

The 2023 season has not been the best year for Alpine as the French F1 team seemingly got further away from their target to compete for the Championships compared to where they were in 2022.

The team has been struggling with various internal problems, not only between their own two factories but also in the management. Several key members departed the team in the middle of the season.

One of them is Alpine's former team principal, Otmar Szafnauer, who recently revealed the team has been operating double-digit millions below the budget cap.

Despite all the problems, including an uncompetitive power unit, Alpine scored 2 Grand Prix podiums with their drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

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The two drivers have been a big part of the success, but the team also made great progress in chassis development. Matt Harman recently said the team understands Red Bull's concept and is trying to pursue their own way at the moment.

It is true you can't beat anybody by copying them. Harman also suggested he believes their A523 car had some very good elements. As quoted by motorsport.com, he said:

“"I think there's some really nice things on our car. We're trying to be humble about these things. We know we're not quite where we want to be, and we'd like to talk about what we need to get better at, not what we think we're good at."”

It might also sound weird if a team that finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship started boasting about great elements on their car. Harman added:

“"I'd rather just focus on what we need to do better to be honest, rather than show off about what we think we might have done well at!"”

Do you think Alpine could become more competitive by next season if the team managed to improve the power unit which even their team principal admitted isn't the most powerful?