Overweight when the year got going, there otherwise was nothing fundamentally wrong with the Alpine A524.
That said, there was nothing especially special about it either; from testing it was apparent that it wasn’t among the best but there were others that were worse in key areas, too. It was average.
Only the opening rounds didn’t play out with average results, and the chassis weight played a significant part in that.
It was addressed within a reasonable period, given the flyaway nature of the season start, but it still happened, and the team’s performances still suffered.
Even now, Alpine is not a shoo-in for points; it hasn’t recaptured even the same form it had last year.
One can understand that given the turmoil inside the operation.
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There are clearly fundamental issues within the organisation, highlighted by the staff turnover it has had in recent years.
That’s likely going to continue for at least the next little while too, given new team boss Oliver Oakes will no doubt have his own ideas about how things are done.
But where, to date, the flux has felt like a team stumbling in the dark, Oakes offers an opportunity for the team to shape itself into something more robust.
To do that, he will need both the time and the autonomy to mould the team into as he deems necessary.
It’s unclear whether Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo, whose meddling has largely created the current mess, is willing to offer that licence is uncertain.
Formula 1 teams operate differently to most organisations, and that includes car companies.
To attempt to force car company thinking on a race team is both arrogant and a way to almost guarantee failure – it’s been repeated time after time.
And the simple fact remains that Alpine, Renault’s factory effort in Formula 1, is being comprehensively beaten by Haas and RB, two squads that buy in a large number of components.
That’s a poor indictment of the operation and speaks to the impact of long-term instability within a team.
The positive is at least something is being done.
Flavio Briatore has been brought back to oversee things, though his appropriateness for the task is dubious given his previous involvement.
The arrival of Oakes, an individual from outside Renault and Enstone, is a promising hiring and his impact will be telling.
But none of this will transform the squad’s performance on track this season.
That looks almost certain to see the squad remain where it is.
Even with its improved performances having shed the winter weight, it’s a long way back (proportionally) from Haas and RB.
Such is its current plight, the team would be better off accepting its fate early and working towards 2025—not completely abandoning this season but beginning to tailor everything to next year.
Already there will be designers working on that project; why not ramp that up with a view to starting the year with a bang?
Given the competition levels in the midfield, and the need for them to continue developing to maintain position, it’s a tactic that could give Enstone a small edge then while accepting that there’s no much further it can fall right now.
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