According to recent reports, Christian Horner has suggested that his competitors are contemplating adopting the design of their cars based on the successful RB19 model. The Red Bull boss believes that the RB19’s dominance may have piqued the interest of other teams. This may be leading them to consider adopting a similar design approach. Consequently, Horner envisions a closely contested competition in the upcoming year. However, in contrast to Horner’s viewpoint, Alpine engineer Matt Harman has dismissed any of this concern.
According to Motorsportweek.com Harman said, “In the end, if we just follow those people, we will never be in front of them. I think it’s a real mantra for us that we need to be inspired by these people, but we need to follow our own way.”
Currently, Alpine is looking to bounce back from a challenging season that resulted in the team slipping two places from 2022. The impressive resurgence of Aston Martin and McLaren pushed Alpine down to the sixth position in the constructors’ championship. However, despite a less-than-ideal campaign, Harman argued that Alpine’s 2023 car had certain inherent strengths.
Harman also expressed the team is looking to enhance these strengths during the winter period, to positively influence the upcoming season. Still, if Alpine truly seeks to improve, it must manage internal conflicts within the team. Specifically, the Enstone team should strive to prevent the kind of errors both its drivers and they made last year.
Did Alpine find any silver lining amid the chaotic 2023 season?
The Alpine garage experiences a complete upheaval each year, involving changes in drivers, team leadership, and top technical personnel. The cycle continued in 2023, commencing with the departure of Pat Fry, the chief technical director of Alpine. This initial change set off a chain reaction that led to the dismissal of Otmar Szafnauer.
Despite joining the team in 2022, the Romanian was let go after an 18-month stint, with the news officially stating it was a mutual decision. Following this, Alan Permane, who had been with the team for an impressive 34 years as the spotting director, also parted ways with Alpine.
However, within the instability in the top management, one comes across an unspoken rule in Formula 1: chaos in the management will always reflect itself on the track. Consequently, what initially seemed like a promising year for Alpine became marred by numerous errors.
The season, amid all the turmoil, witnessed both of the team’s drivers embroiled in tensions. Earlier, both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly faced hydraulic issues during the races in Britain and Azerbaijan. Moreover, the intense performance of both Gasly and Ocon was already evident at the Australian GP, where both drivers concluded the race with a DNF.
In addition, at the Japanese Grand Prix, the pair experienced another tussle. During the race, the team instructed Ocon to overtake Gasly at the finish line following a strategic misjudgment. It heightened the frustration levels for Gasly, intensifying the tension between the two drivers. However, amid the turmoil, a silver lining appeared for the Renault Group.
In July, the Alpine team made headlines by selling a 24% stake in the team. The sale reportedly involved Otro Capital and RedBird Capital, which includes notable sports figures like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. The deal is said to be valued at $218 million. Even Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds also jumped on the bandwagon, becoming one of the co-owners of the French team.
