2023-08-05 19:30:49
The Alpine crisis is bleeding the team dry. After the departure of Laurent Rossi and Otmar Szafnauer a week ago, there is currently a power vacuum in the French structure that the Renault Group intends to resolve in the coming days.
However, that internal crisis is not the only problem at Enstone. In fact, it is the consequence of the team’s lack of results, caused in large part by the lack of speed and reliability of the A523 and also by some errors by its pilots.
Much of the criticism is directed precisely at Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Those of Cyril Abiteboul, director of the Renault team until, at the beginning of 2021, it was renamed Alpine, are especially striking. For the French engineer, neither of the two drivers has enough packaging to lead a team that intends to be competitive and they have not managed to fill the void left by the departure of Fernando Alonso.
“Two names is too many. When you close your eyes and think of Mercedes, you think of Lewis Hamilton, even though Nico Rosberg did extraordinary things. When you think of Red Bull, you think of the first cycle around Sebastian Vettel… then, in the second around Max Verstappen”, declared Abiteboul.
The former head of Renault believes that in order to make this leap in quality, a driver who is not weighed down by the role of leader is necessary: ”You need a driver who is also a bit of a team leader, because this power of personification is essential. For At the moment, the grid is very competitive with all the cars finishing on the same lap. Even so, in a while there will be an almost level playing field. What will make the difference is ambition and determination.”
The French engineer assures that the only thing that is missing in Alpine is a star sitting behind the wheel: “Every element that is changed potentially puts the spirit and culture of the team at risk. It is these two aspects in particular that are missing in Alpine “.
“The investments, the resources, the ambitions of the group, the corporate strategy with the Alpine brand have been made. It’s all there. But when a team has it all, it needs something that transcends it, someone to drive it forward,” Abiteboul concluded. .
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