"They are the definition of mid": Fans react to reports of Alpine being forced to use the current livery as a weight-saving measure

F1 fans were left unimpressed by the two liveries launched by the Alpine F1 team on Thursday, February 8, ahead of the 2024 season.

The French outfit were the latest team to showcase the 2024 challenger at their livery launch for the F1 as well as the WEC car at the event. Once again just like the previous year, they decided to roll out two different liveries that they would run on the track throughout the 24 races.

Fans on social media were left underwhelmed when Alpine displayed a carbon-heavy livery with some shades of their company blue along with BWT pink. But the disappointment was amplified when they launched their alternate livery, which was also carbon-heavy with more pink.

As per Italian journalist Piergiuseppe Donadoni, the carbon-heavy livery is part of an effort by the team to reduce weight on the challenger.

F1 fans took to X to give their reactions to the livery, with one claiming that their measure of weight-saving by going carbon-heavy won't change their performances on the track:

"No amount of paint stripping will make Alpine a serious team. They are the definition of mid."

Here are some more reactions:

Some other fans even questioned the tactic of going carbon-heavy to reduce weight in the car:

Alpine F1 director chimes on their 'aggressive' approach for the 2024 challenger

Alpine Technical Director Matt Harman, meanwhile, has stated that they decided to be 'aggressive' in their approach while developing A524 ahead of the 2024 season. Elaborating on the same, he was quoted as saying by F1.com:

“The A524 approach has been aggressive but deliberate in the fact we are creating a wider scope to add performance to the car. We have really focused on learning and reacting to what we have learned rather than on results. The project has been bold where we have focused on realizing concepts, which we aim to add to the car.

"We’ve built ourselves a strong platform to add performance when we can and we have set ourselves targets to deliver those. We have pushed some elements to the limit and, in some cases, beyond that. That is all in line with our approach and exactly what we have set out to achieve in progressing this project to the best possible level.”

The French team would dearly hope to move on from the middle-tier to consistently challenge the top half of the grid for bigger results in the 2024 season.

This could be a pivotal season for Alpine if they want to retain the same driver line-up for the 2025 season, with Esteban Ocon linked to a drive with Mercedes.