Alpine’s remarkable and unexpected double podium in the recent Sao Paulo Grand Prix has catapulted it into contention for sixth in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship.
Second and third for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly respectively added 33 points to Alpine’s tally, taking it from ninth to sixth in one fell swoop.
As it stands with three rounds remaining, Alpine has 49 points, Haas, the in-form team in the midfield, resides on 46 points, while RB lags behind those two on 44 points.
As Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes said, it’s “very much game on” between Alpine, Haas and RB. But while one squad was overjoyed after coming away from Brazil, two more were left disgruntled now that a third party has joined their season-long battle at the eleventh hour.
Making the most of the wet conditions and playing its cards carefully with an extended opening stint, Alpine benefitted hugely from a mid-race red flag at Interlagos when Franco Colapinto crashed his Williams. On the restart, Ocon and Gasly found themselves in first and third, finishing second and third by the time the chequered flag fell behind Max Verstappen.
“Obviously, for me it’s a great result for the team,” Oakes told media including Motorsport Week. “I think, obviously, us in Enstone and Viry, it’s a big result after the last couple of years, or even the beginning of this year, so I’m happy for them. I think sweet is the right word, it is a real big result today.
“I was thinking this earlier, you’ve got to enjoy the moment, but also be humble because there’s still quite a few races left, isn’t there? I think more for the team as a whole, beginning of the season, they’ve got a lot of mud slung at them, I guess you could say, or a bit of stick. I think you can see how much it means to them.”
Should Alpine succeed in holding onto sixth in the standings, the Anglo-French outfit will gain an extra $50 million in prize money, which will go some way to helping the team rebuild.
Oakes’ remit since coming into the Alpine fold in August was to instil some belief back into Alpine, a team that had no place dwindling towards the back of the grid considering its current status as a works operation and the past success that Renault has sustained in F1.
The surprise result in Brazil came off the back of strong results for Gasly, who qualified in the top 10 at both the Circuit of the Americas and Mexico City, scoring points in the latter.
“I was trying to count earlier how many weeks I’ve been here,” Oakes added. “I think it’s 15, something like that. Yes, 15, 16 weeks.
“Obviously, when you arrive, like I did just before shutdown, I think they’d just got a point in Spa, if I’m right or wrong, and then Zandvoort was also another point, and that was a good race. Those races beyond that where we had, I would say, some tough weekends where we really saw some things that are hurting us.
“It was quite nice, I dare say, getting to Austin and seeing some performance. And now we have to feel confident for the remaining races, but also humble that it’s really competitive in that midfield. You can see that every time you go on track.”
Haas rue poor Interlagos showing
Without the rain and red flag, there’s no doubt Alpine wouldn’t be in the fight for sixth in the Constructors’ standings, which Haas had taken the lead after a string of strong upgrades. Meanwhile, RB relinquished sixth as it has struggled to develop its F1 machine throughout the latter half of 2024, though recent new parts have inspired an upswing.
A black flag for Nico Hulkenberg and a difficult run to 12th for Oliver Bearman in Brazil have stunted Haas’ momentum and handed the initiative to Alpine with three rounds remaining.
“We didn’t perform, and others scored heavily,” Haas boss Ayao Komatsu admitted. “Operationally, we didn’t maximize everything here so that’s something we need to take home and review. We have to look ahead for the last three races; we have decent pace in the dry, so we need to reset and refocus. We need to get the best out of the car and everyone for the next three.”
RB return to points-scoring ways
RB sustained a strong outing in Sao Paulo with Yuki Tsunoda, who bagged a career-high starting spot of third, and Liam Lawson finished seventh and ninth respectively. It was a good points haul for the Faenza-based squad, but not as good as Alpine’s return.
“It’s good to score points with both cars, however, seeing what Alpine achieved from the race, we’re left frustrated as there was potential for more points,” rued RB Technical Director Jody Egginton.
Oakes is a fresh face in F1. The Hitech founder is the youngest team boss on the grid at the age of 36 and has admitted it’s all a learning experience. The up-and-down form that encompasses the F1 midfield fight is one of the lessons he is rapidly learning.
“Someone can be strong early on, and then the second half of the year they fall away, but they still end up finishing up there,” Oakes said. “And obviously this does help us to keep the confidence going in the team. I think since I arrived after the shutdown, I could see already, really build up to Austin and we were sort of tempering expectations because it has been really hard to develop a car, especially in season. I think we’ve seen that with quite a few teams.
“In Austin I was sort of full of praise for the fact they brought performance to the car. It was a bit trickier in the race, but then it was nice in Mexico to back that up in another way with points. And then I think here to see another improvement on that, it definitely does help. And it’s more actually just credit to everyone at Enstone and Viry because I think for them it does mean a lot. You can see that.”
Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi remain and those three venues will decide how Alpine, Haas and RB fall in the final standings. Oakes is playing coy regarding his team’s chances.
“Let’s see,” he previewed. “I think it’s exciting the races left, and I think we should be able to have a good go at those tracks. One thing that’s true in F1, though, is you just know whenever you think it’s easy, it gets really tough, so we’re sort of just going to keep our feet on the ground.”
The battle between McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull to claim the Constructors’ Championship will dominate the headlines between now and the chequered flag dropping at the Yas Marina Circuit – but the contest lower down the order will take on equal importance with both pride and financial incentives at stake for the three teams eager to clinch sixth place.
