Alpine F1 is underperforming this season and Esteban Ocon believes one of the main reasons for the lack of performance is due to the fact that the drivers’ opinions have not been taken into account for years.
According to him, this has been going on for a while, since 2020, when he joined the team, also called Renault F1 Team. At that time, his partner was Daniel Ricciardo, after which the Australian was replaced by Fernando Alonso, whose place was later taken by Pierre Gasly.
“In many ways, the development has not gone as it should have,” said Ocon, who will retire from Alpine at the end of this season. “I think the drivers – myself, Daniel, Fernando and Pierre – have often expressed their views on the direction of working with the car, but unfortunately they were not taken into account.
We shared information with the team, but the team didn’t share it with us, and we were kind of in the dark. I would say sometimes we weren’t listened to at all. Some issues that were identified a few years ago still remain unresolved.
We managed to improve in many other aspects, but it is impossible to wait years for the existing problems to be solved, and that is worrying. This is exactly how it all ended; there was no normal exchange of information. Now that our car is no longer efficient, everyone is of course upset. And you have to live with that.”
After 14 rounds of the season, Alpine is only 8th in the Constructors’ Championship, with just 11 points. In an attempt to change the situation, Flavio Briatore was sent back to the team from Enstone, but in the role of an advisor with very wide powers, and Oliver Oakes was appointed as the new leader. Pierre Gasly will continue to drive for Alpine next year, but his new team-mate has not yet been named.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
