Alpine have been on a steady rise since the re-brand of Renault at the start of 2021, with the team securing fifth and fourth place finishes in their first two seasons in the sport.
A driver pairing of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon had proved a formidably but toxic partnership in their two years together and the Spaniard will be replaced by Pierre Gasly in 2023.
Alonso’s involvement with the team turned frosty after the two-time world champion became frustrated with the reliability of his car in 2022, having to retire from six races over the course of the season.
This led the Spaniard to accuse his team of favouring Ocon, pointing the finger at the engineers for his failure to be the best of the rest in 2022.
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When reflecting on Alpine’s time so far in F1, team principal Otmar Szafnauer has suggested that his team have adopted Toto Wolff’s famous ‘no blame culture’, which has contributed to so much of Mercedes success in the past.
“I’m all for a ‘no blame culture’,” said the Alpine boss.
“I think to have a high-performing team, you can’t be pointing fingers – you have to work together.
“The bigger the team is, the more important that it; when you have 1,000 people, you have to have psychological safety at work.”
The Romanian has explained that good team spirit is key to success in Formula 1, meaning that a happy garage will play a major role in Alpine’s hunt to become regular podium contenders.
“We are working hard, and I think we’re making great progress, and that comes from the leadership on a ‘no blame culture’,” he explained.
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“We we’re there, we’ll pull together even more, work even harder, enjoy our work and the quest for the top three will become easier.”
Alpine will boast one of the strongest driver lineups on the grid in 2023, with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon both being strong drivers in their own right, but also with the potential to grow with the team in their mutual hunt for podiums.
The pair have previously had their issues in the past but have been quick to reassure fans that their problems from their junior years are well behind them, and that everyone in the team is working together to allow Alpine to reach its full potential.