Pierre Gasly reveals that Alpine wants to win races in 2024, with the 27-year-old uninterested in spending more time in the midfield. With development for next season underway, the French outfit must prove capable of making this leap.
This year has been another eventful chapter for Alpine, although largely for reasons outside the track. After finishing 4th in the standings last season, this year’s A523 was the sixth-fastest machine on the grid.
During the A523’s pre-season launch, the team outlined its objective was to maintain 4th place and close the gap to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. After almost a year of development and competition, Alpine failed to reach these goals.
Gasly and Ocon couldn’t fight at the front in 2023, with Aston Martin and McLaren instead being the ones to interrupt the established order. In the space of twelve months, these teams demonstrated that Alpine’s “five-year plan” was completely obsolete.
Otmar Szafnauer was fired halfway through the year, having insisted that Alpine should keep its five-year schedule. Meanwhile, Laurent Rossi made highly critical comments about the team’s slow start – creating more negative headlines surrounding the team.
Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523 and Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523.
07.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Practice Day.
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Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Pierre Gasly responded to a question about Alpine’s chances of winning in 2024:
“I want to say 2024 because this is the clear target, and that’s the goal I’m working towards.
“And I just want it to happen very, very, very badly next season…
“I really hope we can hear the French anthem on the podium in Formula 1 next season in 2024.”
This seems like a highly ambitious expectation, especially given Alpine’s track record in previous years. Despite their status as an engine manufacturer, the team seems eternally stuck in the midfield.
Aside from occasional purple patches in Monaco and Zandvoort, the French team were largely starved of notable results. In many cases, they relied on issues from the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari to score points.
With only two seasons left with this generation of F1 cars, the team is running out of time. By the end of next year, resources will be increasingly allocated to development for the new 2026 regulations.
So unless Alpine can bridge the gap quickly, the prospect of race victories will be largely out of reach.
Author: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
