Alpine Formula 1 team principal Oliver Oakes admits that the team’s form is unlikely to improve dramatically before the end of this season and that 2025 will be the “real barometer” of progress.
Alpine has had a difficult time of late, and after Baku it slipped behind Williams to ninth place in the World Championship, having failed to score any points in the last three races.
Like others Alpine has updates coming for the remaining races, although it has yet to confirm whether the full package will be seen in Austin or spread out over subsequent events.
“Some people have brought big steps this year,” Oakes said of the upgrades. “Some have brought some that haven’t worked.
“So I think we’ve just got to actually see when we bring it how it performs. You know a number from what you’re hoping to bring. At the end of the day it’s also got to translate to the track.
“It is quite tight in that battle in the middle there, and you see it swing. It’s quite interesting that one weekend to the next, even between drivers at the front, actually, in the same car and the same teams it’s quite interesting as a neutral just seeing how much that does swing track-to-track, and in the battles we’re having.”
Oakes stressed that the focus is on 2025. “At Enstone people are smart enough to know where we started, what we have done, and they’re on that journey that we need to bring some performance between now and the end of the year.
“But also the true barometer of that is going to be how we start next year, really. I think at the moment, there’s nothing that’s going to change drastically between now and the end of the year. I think the real journey is sort of how we go through these next phases.”
He added: “I’m definitely confident because we need to work hard, and we haven’t forgotten how to build a good race car. But I do think where we are now, we know we need to improve at the end of the day.”
Oakes conceded that the recent form of the A524 has not been easy for Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
“They’re both from my point of view good to work with and massively professional,” he said. “There are never any concerns over them being motivated. I think obviously they get frustrated, as I would. You don’t want to be cruising around on Sunday with nothing to fight for at the moment.
“But I think actually we know between now and the end of the year we have got some performance coming.
“I think actually what you’re seeing we’re a little bit out of sync is my view. I think we were late bringing what we brought from the beginning of the season, and then you end up a bit out of sync when others have brought stuff.
“And I hope between now and the end of the year we can at least show we’ve got some performance to come.”
Oakes also downplayed the significance of the fight with Williams for eighth place given that the team has bigger ambitions.
“I kind of don’t want to say it is a big battle, because you’re at the back of the grid,” he said. “But I think at the end of the day, we’re on the back foot of that battle after Baku. And definitely the target is to try and keep that going to Abu Dhabi, and hopefully get it back.
“But also it’s not really the battle you want to be focused on. We need to focus on ourselves, and we’re not good enough at the moment.”
