As per recent reports, Alpine will suffer in the first half of the 2024 F1 season and will gradually improve after mid-season when they start introducing upgrades.
According to reports from formu1a.uno, the Enstone-based team has come up with a brand new platform on which they built their new 2024 F1 challenger. Thus, they are in the process of learning about the new chassis before improving it and moving up the grid.
After anonymous pre-season testing by Alpine, several fans were unimpressed by the team and criticized it. Some fans spewed how they are the "most embarrassing team" on the grid, while others joked about the 100-race plan set by the team.
Here are some of the comments.
"Alpine are the most embarrassing team out there. At least the bad teams know they're bad. They still think they're a big team lmao," a fan wrote.
A few fans sympathized with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, who were struggling with the team despite being good drivers.
"They get worse every year, it’s a shame because Ocon and Gasly are pretty good," another fan added.
A few F1 enthusiasts were relieved that Fernando Alonso left the French team before the team started to struggle even more.
"Thank God Alonso left..," a fan mentioned.
Alpine has been on a decline since 2022 when they finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship, but in 2023, they fell back to sixth place. They also encountered several turmoils at the senior management level, which further hampered the team's vision and performance.
Pierre Gasly's somber take on Alpine A524's performance
After the pre-season testing, Pierre Gasly felt Alpine would not "look great" at the start of the 2024 F1 season.
Speaking with Sky TV, he said he has not been looking at other teams since he was occupied with his own. Gasly said the team has done a plethora of tests on the A524 and will analyze the data to improve performance.
"To be fair I haven't really focussed on others because there's been so much going on our side. I don't think we look great. But at the same time, we still have a couple of days to really understand everything we've done. We've put the car upside down, and done a lot of tests. So hopefully, some analysis and answers will bring us some more performance," Gasly said (via Motorsport.com).
In the pre-season tests, the Enstone-based team was consistently in the midfield on all three days. Pierre Gasly was the closest to the top of the timing sheets on Day 1, finishing fifth.