According to the former manager of the F1 team, Cyril Abiteboul, Alpine doesn’t have a number one driver who can serve as a “team boss” like those at Red Bull and Mercedes.
Following last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane resigned by mutual accord when Laurent Rossi was appointed Alpine CEO.
Since chief technical officer Pat Fry also relocated to Williams, the senior-level structure at Enstone has been the centre of attention.
The team also needs a clearly defined talismanic lead driver, according to Abiteboul, who managed the team under its old Renault name until a 2021 revamp.
The manager of the current Hyundai World Rally team told France Info that Max Verstappen taking over at Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes should serve as models for F1 Alpine.
Two names is one too many, he remarked of current drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
Nico Rosberg did some extraordinary things.
“When you close your eyes and think of Mercedes, you think of Lewis Hamilton. When you think of Red Bull, you think of the first cycle around Sebastian Vettel. Then the second cycle around Max Verstappen.
You need a driver who is also a bit of a team boss, and this power of personification is fundamental. At the moment, the grid is very competitive with all cars finishing on the same lap.
In a while, there will be a near-level playing field. What will make the difference is ambition and determination.”
Prior to pairing the Australian driver with teammate Ocon for 2020, the team partnered Nico Hulkenberg with Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, and Abiteboul.
The current turmoil at Alpine and the lack of a leader, according to Abiteboul, put the squad’s “team spirit and culture” at jeopardy. These components were already lacking.
He said
“Every element that is changed potentially puts the team spirit and culture at risk. It is these two aspects in particular that are lacking at Alpine.
The investments have been made, the resources, the group’s ambitions, the corporate strategy with the Alpine brand – it’s all there. When a team has everything, it needs something that transcends it, someone to drive it. The strength of an individual who can pull 1,000 people together is very unifying.”
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