F1 team given BRUTAL verdict on 2024 car after pre-season testing

Verstappen during official testing in Bahrain in 2023 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 team given BRUTAL verdict on 2024 car after testing

Alpine could be one of the slowest of all F1 teams in 2024

Shay Rogers

Monday 26 February 2024 13:57

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Alpine fans have been warned that they could be the slowest of all ten Formula 1 teams heading into the first race weekend of the 2024 season in Bahrain.

Drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have struggled behind the wheel of the A524, which appears to have fallen behind its competitors.

New team principal Bruno Famin has plenty of work ahead of him to lead the factory team’s charge back through the field – with heavy investment creating the expectation for better results than they are delivering.

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An extra worry will be the expiring contracts of both of their French drivers at the end of 2024, and plenty of opportunities elsewhere on the F1 grid opening up.

Esteban Ocon drives the Alpine A524 in Bahrain

Esteban Ocon's contract expires in 2024 and a renewal could depend on Alpine's form

Are Alpine the slowest team in 2024?

According to German outlet Auto Motor und Sport, experts have decided that they may be the new backmarkers of the pack.

“At the other end of the field, the experts have also agreed on a candidate. The new Alpine A524 cut the worst figure of all the cars,” journalist Michael Schmidt said.

“The car is overweight, aerodynamically inefficient, slow on one lap and in endurance running. In this form, the French racing team is the first takeover candidate.

“No factory team can afford to be at the back of the field all the time. High-ranking engineers are said to be on the verge of leaving.”

The team have a matter of days to find some solutions to their problems before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

If they continue to languish at the back, changes could be made as the French team look to find answers for their poor performance.