Formula 1 News: Gasly eyes exit from lame Alpine team (Update)

(GMM) Esteban Ocon has joined his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly in admitting they may be racing “the worst car” early in 2024.

It is believed the works Renault team may indeed have slumped behind Haas to bring up the rear in Formula 1 this year, amid suggestions the 2024 car is overweight and still underpowered.

“We still don’t know exactly,” team boss Bruno Famin told DAZN, “we have to analyze it better, but weight is always a factor.”

Auto Motor und Sport believes prominent Alpine engineers are now eyeing the exit door – with the out-of-contract Ocon and Gasly also on the lookout for a faster car for 2025.

“It didn’t come as a complete surprise,” Ocon admitted in Bahrain when asked about the rumors of Alpine’s struggles with its 2024 car.

“We had already noticed in the simulator where the weaknesses were compared to the old car.”

He didn’t say what the main weakness is, but admits Alpine has been caught out by rival teams who made bigger-than-expected gains from 2023 to 2024.

“I think the other teams have improved significantly more than we expected,” said Ocon. “Unfortunately, you can never predict something like that with any precision.

“There’s one problem that’s bigger than the others,” he added, without elaborating. “We were able to solve the smaller things during the test. The balance isn’t actually that bad.

“But it will take time for us to get back on track. We recognized early exactly what we need to work on, and have passed this on to Enstone and Viry.”

27-year-old Ocon, who is managed by Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, said McLaren is an example of a team that started slow last year but ultimately made big strides with upgrades.

Ocon is hoping for that now.

“Until you deliver progress, you can’t be sure that it will come,” he warns. “But I have to trust my team. If that wasn’t the case, there wouldn’t be any reason to be here.”

But for the time being, Ocon doesn’t deny that he and Gasly might be chasing Haas this weekend in Bahrain.

“You’re selling Alpine as the worst car,” he smiled to reporters. “That’s definitely a possibility because the cars haven’t raced against each other yet. We’ll know more in two days.”

(GMM) Pierre Gasly admits he sees himself as a player in the driver ‘silly season’ for 2025, as his current team Alpine slumps to the very rear of the grid.

Ahead of the 2024 season that kicks off in Bahrain this weekend, it is believed the new Alpine could slip behind even Haas as the slowest car of all.

“We are much more in the mix now,” new Haas boss Ayao Komatsu is quoted by Ekstra Bladet newspaper. “Last year after the very first long run I thought ‘Oh my God, we are completely out of it’.

“I’m not saying our baseline car is great, because it isn’t,” he added. “You can tell in high-speed corners that it lacks a lot of downforce. But at least it’s a stable base.”

The new Alpine, on the other hand, has also fallen behind the 2024 cars fielded by Williams, Sauber and RB, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“High-ranking (Alpine) engineers are said to be on the move,” the magazine claims.

Alpine might also lose both of its out-of-contract drivers at the end of the year.

“For the future, I’m not worried,” Gasly told RTBF. “I have to try to find the project that will give me the maximum chance of achieving my objectives.

“I’m committed to this team and I see a lot of positive changes. But beyond that, we need to perform. I’m 28 years old. Like everyone around me at Enstone and Viry, I really hope it can work.

“As you mentioned, I’m at the end of my contract and there are of course discussions. But for the moment, we will wait and see how things evolve in these first races,” he added.

Gasly even defended the slow 2024 car, insisting the team changed everything “except the steering wheel” after last season.

“On the one hand, we tested a lot, which is positive,” he said. “On the other hand, we don’t necessarily understand everything about this new car, which is normal.

“We need time. We need to work. We know we’re starting from the back, which I think we’ve been quite honest about from the start. We know that there is potential to develop this season and we hope that it will happen as soon as possible. But it might not happen. And it will be a difficult opening race for us.

“I’m afraid we are going to need a lot of patience,” Gasly admitted. “That’s not what you want, but it’s clearly going to take some time to get the most out of this car. We will have to make a good plan with many updates.”