The new Formula 1 season is only one race old, and the first racing team is already rumbling and crashing. Alpine confirms the separation of two key employees.
Alpine’s 2024 Formula 1 season began with a disaster in the desert. The two drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were unable to get to grips with the new A524 racer and its new concept at the F1 opener in Bahrain and remained without points.
There had already been rumors on the race weekend that two important employees of the team would be fired. Alpine has now confirmed the personal details. Technical director Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer (head of aerodynamics) are leaving the French racing team.
Team boss speaks plainly
These changes come “after a period of disappointing results in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, which saw the team drop from fourth place in the 2022 championship to sixth in 2023, and achieve several key objectives in its ambitions to move to the front of the grid “We missed it,” said Alpine.
At the same time, the racing team announced a new structure. The two vacant positions of Harman and de Beer are to be filled by three successors.
Joe Burnell (Technology), David Wheater (Aerodynamics) and Ciaron Pilbeam (Performance) will share the role of Technical Director.
In the future, the trio will report to team boss Bruno Famin. “We decided to make these organizational changes because we can clearly see that we are not where we want and need to be in terms of performance level,” explained the Frenchman.
The two Alpine plants in Enstone (chassis) and Viry-Chatillon (drive) should also be better connected “in order to bring the performance to the track,” Famin is quoted in the statement.
The personnel castling at Alpine will continue in 2024. The team had already shaken things up well in 2023. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer, sports director Alan Permane and CEO Laurent Rossi left the racing team. At the beginning of the year, Bruno Famin took over the job as team boss.
Alpine is in last place in the constructors’ championship after the first race of the year. It is one of five teams (Kick Sauber, Haas, RB and Williams) that failed to score points in the season opener.