Alpine team principal Bruno Famin has blamed the previous management at Enstone for the A524’s performance. The French-based outfit is last in the F1 Championship, owing to an uncompetitive car. A failed crash test over winter forced Alpine to make last-minute adjustments to their package – ultimately compromising their progression. Alpine’s lack of pace was apparent during pre-season testing and hasn’t been addressed since.
It is no secret that managerial changes have dominated the team in recent years. Cyril Abiteboul, Marcin Budkowski, Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane and even Alain Prost are among the high-profile figures to leave Enstone since 2020. A combination of factors has seen team principals given very little margin for error.
More recently, technical director Matt Harman departed just over a month ago. As of yet, a direct replacement has not been announced. Instead, Alpine has used this as an opportunity to adopt a McLaren-style technical structure.
ALPINE TEAM PRINCIPAL POINTS THE FINGER
According to Bruno Famin, his team are capable of recovering from their slump. Moreover, he argues that the A524 is the product of mistakes from previous leadership:
“We want to use those difficult moments now. We know everyone has ups and downs,” he told f1.com.
“We are in a down – but we will use the opportunity to be stronger very soon and for sure make the necessary changes within the team to reach our goals.
“The car we have now is the result of previous management. But what is important is what we are doing now. And I’m happy with what we are doing. Of course, the way [forward] is very long, and we have a lot to improve.”
Inevitably, the senior Alpine personnel from last season played a role in constructing the A524. However, Bruno Famin himself joined the team last summer and was, therefore, involved in overseeing this year’s project.
More broadly, shifting blame to previous team principals seems to be a common mistake. Not too long ago, Fred Vasseur was in charge of Renault before switching to Sauber. His pedigree as a team principal is now evident at Ferrari.
Keeping this in mind, Alpine must strive to move away from its blame culture of recent years.
