Alpine F1 suffered a catastrophic qualifying in Bahrain, and rectifying the A524’s performance will take some time.
Whilst the likes of Aston Martin and McLaren cemented themselves as contenders in qualifying, Alpine found themselves further adrift. The engine manufacturer, once again, finds itself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Last season was chaotic for the French outfit off-track. However, their pace – though still mediocre – was at least enough for two podiums.
Heading into the 2024 campaign, it seems internal instabilities and mismanagement have caught up to Alpine.
It cannot be said today’s result is a surprise, with A524 showing clear limitations since the beginning of testing.
After Thursday’s practice, Bruno Famin and his personnel found themselves at the bottom of the timing sheets.
This alarming repeated itself when it counted in Bahrain qualifying, with Ocon finishing P19 and Gasly P20.
A long road ahead for Alpine
With this year also serving as a foundation for 2025 (due to unchanged regulation), the situation is especially concerning.
Logically, the next question to ask is whether Alpine F1 can reverse their fortunes and climb the field.
In theory, the Enstone-based team is aspiring to achieve this. McLaren demonstrated last season that an aggressive development plan can compensate for a poor winter.
Unfortunately for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, there are no guarantees of progress in the near future.
The A524 is a fundamentally new concept for Alpine and their technical team. Therefore, it will take some time to understand how meaningful improvements can be introduced.
Frustratingly, the budget cap will severely reduce their margin for error. Any mistakes could derail their chances of a realistic recovery in 2024.
Moreover, the A524 is carrying an essentially automatic disadvantage from its excess weight and underpowered engine.
This means that, essentially, every area of the car needs to be improved.
With Aston Martin and McLaren joining the usual suspects at the front, it seems unrealistic that Alpine can climb to the front.
Even assuming their concept has significant potential to improve, at this stage, is unknown.
At this stage, the only certainty is that Alpine are on the defensive.
