Alpine's poor year is bad for its drivers

Alpine’s inability to move forward is hindering the careers of promising talents Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly would’ve once believed Alpine was their one-way ticket to F1 success, but that now seems less likely.

2023 has been a poor season for the French team. They finished 2022 with the fourth-quickest car, but they haven’t been able to hold that position and have slipped back to sixth-quickest.

Right now, they have nearly 50 fewer points than they did 12 months ago.

Alpine’s big problem is that their car development has remained steady, while close rivals Aston Martin and McLaren have made huge gains and transformed into regular podium finishers.

One of Alpine’s big strengths is the strong driver pairing of Ocon and Gasly. Both have half a decade of experience and they were both helped into F1 by major manufacturers.

They are fine talents with significant potential.

But, Ocon and Gasly are yet to find themselves a competitive team that can fight for the championship. Alpine promised to provide that opportunity, at least from the outside.

But, Alpine seem far from becoming a frontrunner.

The team hoped to close the gap to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull this year. Instead, the margin has widened.

Just before the summer break, punishment for this lack of progress was seemingly handed down, with departures confirmed for Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, team principal Otmar Szafnauer, and sporting director Alan Permane.

At the time, The Race very pointedly declared: “SENIOR STAFF EXITS SHOW ALPINE IS AN F1 TEAM IN CHAOS”.

In fact, the only major positive for Alpine in the last 12 months has been its swathe of new celebrity investors, including actor Ryan Reynolds, boxer Anthony Joshua and golfer Rory McIlroy.

Can Alpine hold onto its drivers?

For Ocon and Gasly, the current situation - languishing in the midfield - was surely not what they had in mind when they joined.

Both drivers appeared to bet their long-term futures on Alpine by signing lengthy deals. Gasly joined in 2023 on a “multi-year contract”, while Ocon signed a mammoth deal in 2021, securing his seat until the end of 2024.

With rivals now overtaking Alpine on the track, you have to wonder whether both drivers will reconsider that bet.

Ocon and Gasly would probably be seen as hot property if they were looking to leave because they are in the unique position of having significant F1 experience while still only being in their 20s (they are both 27). That means they still have several seasons left in the tank.

Their departure could be a possibility if Alpine’s performance doesn’t improve soon.

Ocon or Gasly could look to sign with new manufacturer Audi, when it joins the grid in 2026. Or perhaps they could look to link up with Michael Andretti’s proposed new team - presuming it’s allowed to join F1.

On the other hand, maybe one of them could replace Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso if either decides to call time on their career at the end of 2024. (Ocon actually used to be a development driver for Mercedes).

Ferrari could also be a 2025 option if Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz chooses to leave.

Still, there’s certainly no guarantee Gasly or Ocon will leave.

Gasly spoke positively about Alpine when he appeared on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast this month. “I will say we are on the right trajectory and the right path,” he said.

Gasly said he believed the team was "performing at a better level”, but did admit it was “still far from what we want to achieve”.

Asked about when he was next going to win an F1 race, Gasly said 2024 was the goal and he wanted it to happen “very, very, very badly”. Still, he said achieving that goal “will need a bit of a miracle to happen”.

It’s not absolutely clear how Ocon is feeling, but with his contract running out next year, he has to decide within the next 12 months whether he will continue with Alpine.

One advantage of staying would certainly be familiarity. Ocon has definitely made Alpine “his team” in the same way that Red Bull is the team of Max Verstappen.