Fernando Alonso left Alpine for Aston Martin in 2023, in a move that makes more sense with each passing day. Alpine is a team in disarray, but Alonso and his current teammate Lance Stroll predicted the same when they shared a hearty laugh following the Spaniard’s first-ever race and podium for Aston Martin in Bahrain last year.
Alonso finished P3 in his Aston Martin debut, and the AMR23 was the second-fastest car at that stage of the season. At Alpine, meanwhile, he was struggling in the lower half of the midfield, often finishing out of the points. Hence, Stroll, after the 2023 Bahrain GP, asked Alonso, “Happy not in Alpine?”
In 2023, Pierre Gasly, Alonso’s Alpine replacement finished P9 whereas Ocon DNFed. Things look even worse for the French team this year with Ocon and Gasly qualifying in P19 and P20 respectively. They didn’t do much better in the race, finishing P17 and P18.
Aston Martin themselves are not as strong as they were when Stroll made his comment and shared the cruel laugh with Alonso. But still, the Spaniard will be glad about driving for a team that is at least finishing in the top 10.
Alpine, the team formerly known as Renault, helped Alonso win the 2005 and 2006 world titles. Still, the relationship between their higher-ups and the #14 driver seemed to have deteriorated in 2022, which is when he announced his shock and sudden departure.
How Fernando Alonso bamboozled the Alpine bosses
Alpine’s team boss in 2022 was Otmar Szafnauer, who saw Alonso’s age as a hindrance. He took public digs at the two-time world champion even though he was performing well and in the end, Alonso quit Alpine abruptly. An opening came up at Aston Martin following Sebastian Vettel’s departure, and the Oviedo-born driver jumped at the opportunity.
Alpine thought they would be fine, and announced Oscar Piastri as their driver, only for the Aussie to publicly humiliate the Enstone-based team by revealing he had nothing signed with them. Just weeks later, Piastri officially signed for McLaren, leaving Alpine completely red-faced.
Now, Alonso and Piastri are both enjoying relative success at their respective teams whereas Alpine is dealing with the loss of even more senior figures within the team. Their trajectory very well points towards a lowly finish, unless things drastically improve very quickly.
According to the latest updates from the French team, technical director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have resigned from their positions. So, as the A524 is suffering from a multitude of issues, Alpine are handicapped on technical leadership.
