F1 pundit reveals damning prediction current driver made against own team
F1 pundit reveals damning prediction current driver made against own team
Sky Sports F1 pundit David Croft has revealed that Esteban Ocon recently told the broadcaster that his Alpine team are likely to be 'a little bit slow' in 2024.
The Enstone-based outfit are heading into 2024 with the hope of improving on their less than impressive form last season.
They only managed to claim two podiums and were seriously hampered by issues with their power unit as they failed to make an impression on the top five in the constructors' championship.
The tumultuous season led to an array of departures, with a mass exodus of key personnel - including team principal Otmar Szafnauer - taking place midway through the season.
New driver Pierre Gasly was left frustrated with the team's lack of performance but, with a whole host of superstar investors recently being announced, and a new team principal in Bruno Famin, there was hope that 2024 would be a fresh start.
Alpine's underperformance
Now, Croft has suggested that negativity around the team has started already ahead of 2024, with Ocon revealing some hard truths.
“I don’t know how it’s all going behind the scenes, you know, a wheel has not even turned yet at this point," Croft told crowds at an Autosport International event.
“[But] Esteban Ocon said he believes the Alpine is a little bit slow, he told me that before Christmas, but I don’t know who’s in really good shape.
“I do think going into this year, Red Bull is obviously going to be in decent shape because they’ve just finessed what was superb last year,” he continued.
“But then you’ve got Ferrari who says their car is going to be 95 percent different to last year. So heaven only knows what we’re gonna get from Ferrari on that one.
“You’ve got Aston Martin who needs to put right what went wrong in the back end of last year or the middle part of last year and get back to where they were at the start.
“Then you’ve got McLaren. McLaren are fantastic – their revival last year was like Lazarus. They were at the bottom of the Championship after three races and, by the end of it, Lando and Oscar were the closest things to Max – which was mega.”
READ MORE: F1 team shows off engine ahead of new season
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Horner outlines Ricciardo target to save F1 dream as major Newey announcement made - GPFans F1 Recap
- 12 minutes ago
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
- 1 hour ago
Ricciardo makes five-race admission in bid to survive F1 axe
- 2 hours ago
Red Bull is 'burning' after Horner and Marko display
- 3 hours ago
Red Bull announce strong statement over Newey departure claims
- Yesterday 19:57
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
- Yesterday 18:57
Related news
F1 boss delivers team SALE verdict with new targets set
F1 pundit slams 'EMBARRASSING' team and predicts driver exodus
F1 team announce shock RESIGNATION of two key figures
F1 team boss issues BRUTAL put down for star driver
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860