"It can be very misleading"- Alpine's test an 'imperfect way' of checking drivers' quality, feels former F1 champion

Alpine's reported secret test to check driver quality is an imperfect method, according to former F1 champion Damon Hill.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, the former Williams driver said that Alpine's approach of bringing multiple drivers to a test might not be too helpful. Alpine reportedly have a massive list of drivers that are on the shortlist for a seat at the team. Some of them were invited for a test at Hungaroring recently.

Talking about the secret test, Hill said that the process is not accurate enough to judge how a driver could fit the team. According to Hill, one cannot judge on speed alone that a driver would connect with the team and vice-versa, saying:

“I think tests are very imperfect ways of checking whether or not someone’s what you want, but maybe they want to reacquaint themselves with him. And it’s as much about vibe, it’s as much about when the guy walks into the garage, how the mechanics respond to them, how the engineers respond to this person, whether they can generate, as you say, this magic quality, this leadership quality in a team, engender them, as it is about sheer pace."

Hill said that a driver's lap time alone can be misleading. Lap time could vary depending on the conditions, which means it alone cannot determine a quicker driver. He said:

“If you just went on sheer pace, it can be very misleading, especially at a test – because it’s not easy to say at a test who was quick. How many times do we go to winter testing and suddenly, you know, the Haas is quickest, and you think, ‘well, you’re going to win the World Championship."

He added:

“Of course, you get to the first race, it’s nothing like that. A test is a day long, driving around a circuit where the conditions are changing all the time. How do you compare like with like? You put in a guy next day, it’s a totally different story.”

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Alpine's driver test has precedence in F1

Alpine are not the first team to do a test to determine which driver will drive for the team. There have been instances of teams holding driving tests to find out who would make the cut.

Williams was notorious for doing so. Following driver tests, they handed a debut to two future world champions - Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg. Button got the seat after the test for the 2000 season, while Rosberg did so six years later.