F1 director reveals plan for HUGE 2024 turnaround

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F1 director reveals plan for HUGE 2024 turnaround

The team are looking to make gains in 2024

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Thursday 25 January 2024 04:57

Alpine technical director Matt Harman has admitted that some rivals got the jump on them when it came to car development in 2023.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon could only manage two podium finishes between them last season, but Harman has insisted that the team have learned their lesson ahead of 2024.

They were also a long way off their 2022 points total which enabled them to finish fourth that season, representing a notable regression.

Alpine have already teased both their 2024 power unit, and a change of direction in terms of their colour scheme, taking to X to show off a potential new pink livery.

The upcoming 2024 season marks a chance for the team - who have recently received an injection of cash from a number of sporting superstars - to close the gap to the top five in the constructors' championship.

A number of key staff members left the Alpine team in 2023, including team principal Otmar Szafnauer

Alpine recently received an injection of cash from some sporting superstars, including Travis Kelce

Alpine's 2024 ambition

French driver Ocon recently revealed some rather negative thoughts on how the new Alpine car is shaping up ahead of 2024, but Harman believes that the team know the direction that they need to take in order to improve performance.

“I think we got a little bit outgunned aerodynamically by some other cars,” he told F1.com.

“We did make some ground at the start of the season on the people we were targeting.

“But there were some notable teams that had made a bigger step than we did. Some of that is to do with pure load on the car, pure development and the amount of load we’re able to put on the car. Some of it was the understanding we needed to extract from the car in the way in which we operate it.

Alpine Esteban Ocon Pierre Gasly