Alpine announces major structural changes as multiple senior personnel leave the team

Alpine recently announced a major personnel restructuring within the team after Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer left the team.

The French team had faced lots of internal turmoil, with the CEO and team principal changing in the middle of the 2023 season. Furthermore, their on-track performance has been declining ever since 2022. They started the 2024 F1 season on the back foot and finished P17 and P18 at the Bahrain GP.

In a statement from the team's head, Bruno Famin, he talked about subpar performance at Alpine being the reason behind making organizational changes.

“We have decided to make these organisational changes as we can clearly see that we are not where we want nor need to be in terms of performance level and it is time to take another step in terms of organisation and people,” said Famin.

He explained that Alpine would have three technical directors going forward, with Joe Burnell in Engineering, David Wheater in Aerodynamics, and Ciaron Pilbeam in Performance departments.

“The new three-pillared structure with three Technical Directors, each specialising in different areas, will bring better work and collaboration across our technical areas and contribute to delivering performance from the factories to the race track. I trust fully in the abilities of Joe, David and Ciaron to work closely together in bringing the team the performance and improvements that it needs," he added.

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Esteban Ocon's encouraging words to Alpine after Bahrain GP praised by former F1 driver

Esteban Ocon's uplifting message to the Alpine pit wall after the 2024 F1 Bahrain GP was lauded by former F1 driver David Coulthard.

Ocon ended the race in P17, while his teammate Pierre Gasly finished in P18. This was a massive blow to the French team. However, the 27-year-old still had his hopes up and came to the team radio to give a motivational message.

"Only Round 1. We keep going and we keep pushing. There is a race tomorrow as well. I got faith in you guys," Ocon said.

Hearing this, former McLaren driver David Coulthard, who was commentating on the race, praised Esteban Ocon's team radio message.

"Wonderful bit of leadership there from Ocon. All credit for being mature enough to see that there is a bigger picture here and actually being a second away is no way near as bad as the position on the grid and they can develop back from there," Coulthard said.

The reason behind Alpine's poor start to the 2024 F1 season was because of their new car, the A524. They went aggressive with development and created a brand new platform for the new car. It was reported that the car could unlock its performance after mid-season with the help of upgrades.