Panic At Alpine: Several Engineers Have Reportedly Already Resigned
F1Monday, 26 February 2024 at 16:30
Updated at Tuesday, 27 February 2024 at 08:44
The Alpine team finds itself in a tricky situation after the pre-season testing in Bahrain, as it seems the French team completely missed the mark with the current setup of their car.
The pre-season testing in Bahrain concluded on Friday, and we are starting to get some first indications of how the pecking order might look during the first race this Saturday.
It seems like the majority of the teams made a very similar step forward, but according to analysis from Auto Motor and Sport, Alpine aren't at all where they would want to be. AMuS wrote:
"The car is too heavy, aerodynamically inefficient, and slow both in one lap and in long runs."
It looks like the French team ran into some major issues, and it might be struggling even compared to the likes of Haas, which clearly stated at the launch they expect to be at the back, if not the last.
What's more, Auto Motor and Sport also suggested that several engineers from the French team have already resigned as a result of the problem.
When talking to the media after the pre-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit, Pierre Gasly also suggested his team isn't doing well.
"I don't think we look great. But at the same time, we still have a couple of days to really understand everything we've done."
Fortunately, the season's first race starts in a couple of days, so the French team still has time to analyze data and make some revisions ahead of the weekend if possible.
"We've put the car upside down, done a lot of tests. So, hopefully, some analysis and answers will bring us some more performance. And then, we'll find out, no one will hide any more next Friday.
The 28-year-old added he has to be patient, which is something that no driver wants. Gasly himself stated ahead of this season that he would like to compete for race wins as early as 2024, but with the current state of Alpine's car, it seems like it won't be possible. He added:
"But I think we'll have to be patient, even if it's not what we like as drivers, but clearly it might take some time before we really unlock the performance we want from that car."
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