Legendary Alpine engineer resigns from the French side in chaos to join Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin

Alpine has an uphill battle ahead of them during the ongoing 2024 F1 season.

Legendary Alpine engineer resigns from the French side in chaos to join Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso (Via: Imago)

Even before the start of the season, Alpine had lost its key technical staff to the newly rebranded VCARB. However, with the season’s onset, it was quite clear that the French works team was the slowest on the grid. Following this, the infamous designer, Bob Bell has decided to leave the team after its slow start to the 2024 season.

It was a change of fortunes for the French team as last year they hoped to claim a top-three finish in the constructors. However, they were unable to achieve this feat and only managed two podiums throughout the season.

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When it comes to the ongoing campaign, it feels like a nightmare for the French outfit as they locked out the back row for the Bahrain GP and finished 17th and 18th. In addition to this, the team’s prominent designer has left in favor of Aston Martin.

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The 65-year-old will join the Silverstone base after an abomination of a start for Alpine. Moreover, Bell will reunite with Fernando Alonso after over a decade. Unfortunately, amid all the departures, it is a sad state of affairs at Enstone, and Bruno Famin will have to quickly find solutions to bring the team back on track.

What are Pierre Gasly’s expectations for Alpine in the upcoming races?

Pierre Gasly finished a disappointing 18th just behind his teammate in the race at the Bahrain GP. Following this disappointing result for the team, the Frenchman has reduced his expectations for the upcoming races.

Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly (Via IMAGO)

While addressing the media, Gasly said:

We don’t expect any magic tricks for next week, we won’t have any upgrades on the car but mid-term to long-term we know the direction we want to head into and what we want to improve, and patience will be key.
Pierre Gasly said as reported by F1

The 28-year-old doesn’t anticipate any magic tricks that could make the A524 fast overnight. Moreover, he is realistic and believes that a few more races might lead to the same result as Bahrain.

Thus, Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon will be waiting for an upgrade package to reduce the weight of the A524 as it is speculated to be 11 kilograms(24 lbs) above the minimum weight. Now, fans and the paddock are waiting for the upheaval of the team as in its current state, the Enstone-based team is a former version of itself.

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