Alonso ‘surprised’ to see Alpine falter, hopes team recovers

Fernando Alonso has had some harsh words for Alpine in the past, but the Spaniard admits that it’s difficult to watch his former outfit currently falter at the low end of the grid.

The French outfit is last in F1’s Constructors’ Championship, having failed to score a single point in the opening two races of the 2024 season.

Alpine’s troubles over the past eight months have been well chronicled, with a significant disruption seizing the team last summer when team principal Otmar Szafnauer and long-standing racing director Alan Permane were shown the door by Renault’s ill-inspired top brass.

But more turmoil hit the Enstone squad recently when the team’s technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer handed in their resignations even before the start of Alpine’s 2024 campaign.

Out on the track, the Enstone-based squad’s A524 has shown no signs of being a contender in F1’s midfield fight, a shortfall due in part to the car’s overweight condition.

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In the wake of last summer’s unrest, Alonso showed little sympathy for Alpine’s plight, having previously highlighted the team’s “lack of professionalism” as the reason for his move to Aston Martin at the end of the 2022 season.

However, Alonso retains fond memories of Renault’s original team, with the pair winning consecutive world titles together in 2005 and in 2006. He is therefore reluctant to criticize Alpine’s downfall.

“When I was there, obviously I had a great time,” Alonso said when asked about Alpine’s current situation.

“Most of the team when I was in Alpine were the same people as we had in Renault, and is the team that I will always love, and will have on my heart.

“So, it’s difficult to see when they are at the back. But hopefully they can find more performance.”

Alonso hinted that the team’s management overhaul last summer, with Bruno Famin placed in charge, impacted the atmosphere inside Alpine and ultimately its results more than expected.

“This is difficult to comment from the outside,” he conceded.

“It’s a team that I love, a team that gave me a lot of great things in my career. So, I hope they can get better.

“When I was there obviously, the team maybe was different. It was a great atmosphere, it was a good performance as well, especially 2022. We were within the top five, top six in every race of the year. So, it is a bit surprising to see the current results. But hopefully they fix things quickly.”

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