F1 team worried after 2024 car tests as Sky Sports pundit shares inside info

30 December 2023 , 13:38

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David Croft has heard worrying things about Alpine's 2024 plans (Image: Sky Sports)

David Croft has shared a worrying update on Alpine after learning of performance concerns for their 2024 car.

The Enstone-based team desperately needs a strong start to the new season to change the narrative surrounding their situation. At the moment, there is not a great deal of optimism for what Alpine might be able to achieve in the near future.

They have suffered a swathe of senior departures over the last two years, including team principal Otmar Szafnauer who was axed mid-season after a disagreement with the Renault board. Six months on, they still do not have a plan for a permanent successor.

A sixth-placed finish in the 2023 standings did not inspire confidence, especially after having come in fourth the previous year. Though they looked to be on the cusp of challenging the top teams, the last 12 months have been evidence of regression compared to their rivals.

Sky Sports F1 commentator Croft is not convinced that senior departures are necessarily a bad thing. But he has voiced another reason to be concerned about what the 2024 campaign might hold for the French-owned team.

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"Davide [Brivio, former head of the young driver programme] is departing the team, I would imagine Bruno [Famin, interim team principal] has had a hand in that - and I think that's a good thing," he told the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

"There seem to be a lot of chiefs at Alpine and probably a few more chiefs than they needed. Matt Harman I think has slotted into his role well, so things might be happening behind the scenes that will bring more success in the future.

"But I hear at the moment that their car is not where they want it to be on the sim in terms of performance for next season and Bruno will be judged on that because, as team principal, he has to oversee that engineering side. It's another team for whom next year is a very big year. To finish fourth in 2022 was good work, to bring Pierre Gasly in for last year I think was good, solid work."

Technical director Harman will hope he and his colleagues can rescue the situation soon, having promised a "front-to-back" new car for 2024. He said: "I don't think this year has been as successful as the A522 [from the 2022 season] - I think I think that's why, for the following year's car, we've had to really unlock some real estate again.

"The car is completely new, front-to-back. So I think you'll see that up and down the grid, because the car needs to last for a couple of years while we look for the future."

Daniel Moxon