Points still seem out of reach for Alpine in the third race of the 2024 Formula 1 season – not a good feeling, according to Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly
The Alpine Formula 1 team is hoping for a turnaround at the Australian Grand Prix. With zero points after the first two races of the 2024 season, they are in last place in the constructors’ championship, but the Albert Park Circuit has suited the French works team well in the last two years
However, with the top five teams Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin so far ahead of the midfield in the race, it is unlikely that one of the two Alpine drivers will be able to finish in the points in Australia. They would have to hope for a retirement in the front field.
“That’s the worst feeling you can have,” says Esteban Ocon when asked about the situation of the teams at the back of the field. “And I honestly hate it when you have a good weekend and don’t finish in the points, then there’s no reward at the end. But it’s up to us to figure out how we can get more performance and get closer to these cars. “
Melbourne track as a glimmer of hope for Alpine?
According to the 27-year-old, there are currently simply “a lot of little things with the A524 that don’t work the way we would like them to”. The biggest problems are undoubtedly the lack of engine power, traction and the car’s excess weight. “This is not a situation we enjoy as a team,” said Ocon.
“I don’t think any of us at Viry or Enstone enjoy struggling so much at the weekends. It’s a long season and of course we are working on optimizing the car, understanding where our problems are and changing things. We won’t let up the pressure until we get there. And that is the goal for all of us. The morale within the team is good. Everyone is motivated, and that’s the most important thing at the moment.”
The Alpine team’s performance in Australia in 2022 and 2023 could give hope. Although they were left without points last year after the team-internal collision between Ocon and Pierre Gasly, Gasly was in a very promising position in the race until the red flags and would probably have finished fifth. In 2022, it was Fernando Alonso who was able to show off in qualifying in the Alpine and would probably have been on the first two rows of the grid had it not been for a technical defect
Gasly does not believe in renewed strength in Australia
When asked whether Alpine Melbourne should therefore suit him again this year, Gasly replies: “I don’t think so. So far, the problems on two different tracks have been very, very similar. Of course it can vary within a few percent, but based on the gap we have in lap time that we are missing at the moment, we don’t expect it to massively change our position.”
“We have some tests planned to understand the package even better, which we want to do in free practice. And also what might help us to take the direction we want to go in terms of the development of the car over the course of the year. But in terms of absolute performance, we don’t expect any big differences, because the car is the same as in the first two races. “
But when will there be better times for Alpine again? “I have my personal opinion, but I’m not going to share it,” says Gasly. “But we know from experience that it doesn’t happen overnight. “
Gasly: Was the departure of AlphaTauri a step backwards?
For Gasly, who only switched from AlphaTauri to Alpine, an established Formula 1 works team, last year, however, the situation is very unsatisfactory, as he was certainly hoping for much more: “I signed with Alpine after the season in which they finished fourth,” he says.
“Last year was a bit disappointing overall in terms of performance, we didn’t manage to close the gap on the top three and have now dropped further down the rankings. But there are a lot of positive changes in the background in the way we approach the work, how we focus on details and the mentality in the team.”
“I see a lot of positives, but it’s not immediately reflected in the performance. Nobody wants to be in the position of driving a car that is not competitive. And ultimately that’s what I want [to be competitive]. But ultimately I also believe that’s possible with the current team, so we have to find solutions and ways to achieve that. “
