Alpine Formula 1 boss Bruno Famin has admitted the team locking out the last row of the grid at the Bahrain Grand Prix was a “shock” despite its expected struggles.
The Enstone-based squad entered the latest campaign braced for a challenging start following the decision to commit to a complete overhaul with its new A524 car.
That materialised across the opening weekend of the 2024 season as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly ended up as the two slowest drivers over a single lap in Bahrain.
“It was a shock, because we were really expecting a difficult start of the season,” Famin admitted.
“We knew, and this is what we said during the launch of our car, [but] to be on the last row in the quali was a shock, to be honest.”
Famin, who replaced Otmar Szafnauer at the helm last term, added that Alpine has grasped the areas it needs to improve and reiterated it has upgrades in the pipeline.
“We understand the issues, the main issues are quite clear,” he commented. “We have to remember also that we are at the first race of the season, which is very long.
“The car is totally new, we have a development coming, we will work hard in developing that car.
“But of course, understanding what are the problems is key to solve it. And we have a quite clear idea of what are the problems and we are really working hard.”
Asked what the main issue with its 2024 package was, Famin replied: “One of the biggest complaints of the driver is not a secret, because we can hear it on the radio, it’s the lack of traction. That’s why in Bahrain, where we really need very good traction with the slow corners, it was especially difficult.”
With Alpine condemned to the bottom of the standings, it was announced that Technical Director Matt Harman and Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer had resigned.
Famin asserted that the Renault-owned outfit’s disastrous beginning to the season served to “confirm the need of changing in our team and we made the change”.
Alpine has since changed its technical organisation to a three-pronged structure reminiscent of the structure McLaren implemented to address its poor start last term.
Explaining the motives behind the decision, Famin said: “We really want to bring to the factories what we have done on the track side by the end of the last season. I mean changing the mindset, unleashing the creativity. And having three technical directors makes the organization much more horizontal, much less vertical, more reactive, more agility.
“And really the motto is really to develop our people. We have very talented people and we want them to bring as much as they can to the project, to the team, to the company.”
Famin is convinced that the untapped potential in Alpine’s revamped car concept will see its recent restructuring deliver an upturn ahead of the 2026 regulation overhaul.
Asked whether Alpine was looking short-term or to the future with these revisions, he answered: “Both, because we have a new car with A524, there is potential in this car.
“We have something coming for sure, but we also need to change our way of developing the car, maybe racing the car as well.
“We need to change really our approach, our general approach on everything we will learn on A524 will be very helpful for developing the A526 [2026 car] for sure.”
