F1 News: Pierre Gasly "Surprised" By Key Alpine Personnel Changes
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has shared his surprise of the extensive changes within the French team's F1 technical division, following a less-than-stellar start to their 2024 campaign. These revelations emerged just before the commencement of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week.
Key Takeaways:
- Significant personnel changes have occurred at Alpine, with the departures of the Technical Director and Head of Aerodynamics.
- Alpine has introduced a new technical leadership structure, drawing inspiration from McLaren's successful turnaround strategy.
- Gasly maintains a hopeful outlook, citing ongoing positive transformations within the team despite the recent upheaval.
The Alpine F1 team's early season has been fraught with challenges, notably with the A524 car failing to meet competitive expectations. In a bold move, Alpine initiated a sweeping reform of its technical department, leading to the departure of significant figures such as Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer.
In the wake of these developments, Bruno Famin, the Team Principal at Alpine, acknowledged the unexpected nature of the team's performance, particularly highlighted by their performance in Bahrain. Gasly, reflecting on the situation, stated, as quoted by Motorsportweek.com:
“I think time will tell really, it’s not really up to me right now to say whether it was a good or bad thing, it was their decisions.
“It comes at a time obviously where we clearly underperformed in Bahrain, I trust in Bruno [Famin], in Luca [De Meo, Renault CEO], in the people in charge to bring the team forward, as I said I now it’s contradictory but there is a lot of positive change going on inside the team.
“It kind of feels a bit unfair for all the guys working in the background and seeing the performance which doesn’t really reflect on all the efforts going on, but that’s the sport, time will tell.”
The Frenchman continued:
“The example, in terms of operation, the processes, the mentality and self-reflection we have on ourselves, in the studies and feedback and the work we’re doing.
“We’re going more into details and trying to really find the last per cent out of everyone, and people are appreciative of that process, and I do see the positive change.
“It doesn’t mean we go two-tenths faster on the race track now as the car doesn’t provide us the grip we need, but mid to long term it’s definitely the direction we’ve got to head to as a team.”
Alpine Press Image
Now in his second stint with Alpine, Gasly is concentrating on his role in the team's revival. When questioned about the surprise departures within the team, he responded:
“It’s always a surprise because I’ve been quite close to also Matt [Harman] coming inside the team, trying to understand a bit the philosophy, understand the changes we’ve made on this new car, yeah, so obviously comes as a bit of a surprise.
“I obviously knew it slightly before, but at the end of the day I focus on my business, I’ve got to drive the car fast, push the team forward, give them clear feedback, and that’s where my energy goes to and at the moment it needs quite a lot of energy.
“Everyone’s disappointed [with the performance] but what I like to see is no one is down, everyone wants to see the end of the tunnel, everyone is working on their own bit and trying to improve as much as they can – in the garage, ops room, engineering room, or back at the factory, I feel more united than we’ve ever been and in this situation.
“It’s more important to stick together and move in the same direction, I do feel everyone is pushing to improve, but Formula 1 it does take time, as much as I hate it because I’m fighting time my entire life, on the race track and off the race track, but I’ll have to be patient.”