Pierre Gasly’s manager has admitted that Alpine’s current performance isn’t what “we expected” after moving from AlphaTauri, with the French side currently being sixth in the pecking order.
Following the conclusion of the first half of 2023, Alpine sit comfortably in sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, with the side being somewhat in no man’s land.
They’re better than those behind them but nowhere near good enough to compete in the top five, something which has seen them finish several races towards the foot of the points.
Gasly was at least able to finish third in last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix sprint race, which came as a surprise to the entire team.
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In the race itself though, he failed to score a point.
The Enstone-based team are a bit of a mess currently, following the sudden sackings of team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane.
CEO Laurent Rossi was also given a new role recently, with lots of personnel change taking place as a result.
Alpine’s 2023 car itself though, simply isn’t good enough.
Renault’s power unit is the weakest by some margin, leaving Gasly and his manager frustrated.
“The car was born as it was born,” Gasly’s manager, Guillaume Le Goff, told RMC. “A little out of step with what we expected.
“So yes, there is a bit of frustration on that side.
“We didn’t leave AlphaTauri to fight for a point or two. That’s no secret,” Le Goff added.
Ex-Renault team member Denis Chevrier has revealed that the French manufacturer thought they’d made “significant progress” with their power unit; however, they’re learning considerably less about their engine.
Renault are the only power unit supplier in F1 currently without a customer team, something which has seen the side “learn a lot less”.
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They are currently trying to receive special treatment to increase the power of their power unit, to make them more competitive.
“The few whispers I hear from Viry tell me that they thought they had made significant progress on the engine,” Chevrier said. “Both in terms of performance and reliability.
“It seems like a decent power unit. The problem is that it’s only in those two cars. So you learn a lot less and much less quickly than the others.
“That’s one of the drawbacks.”