"He burned the house down" - Alpine CEO's harsh comments about the team dissected

Formula 1 journalist Tom Clarkson mentioned that Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi's recent comments about the results of the team were detrimental to the progress that they can make in the future.

Alpine finished as best of the rest (P4) in 2022, which saw them begin their 2023 campaign with greater expectations placed on their shoulders. They have, however, failed to replicate their lofty standards from last year.

Rossi fired shots at Alpine and their team principal Otmar Szafnauer for not meeting development targets for this season. The Frenchman cited the example of Aston Martin's rapid rise to the top of the sport as they were fighting the iconic British team in 2021 for fifth in the constructor's title.

While appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, Clarkson said:

"I mean let's be honest he burned the house down didn't he? He said the team are a bunch of deletantais and amateurish and all these different descriptions and no one in the team appreciated it. And none more so than Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer., I find it very difficult."

Fellow host Natalie Pickham agreed with Clarkson's comments and added:

“You don’t vent publicly. It’s the worst thing to do. It’s like admonishing your kids in front of other people. You’re just embarrassing them. It doesn’t have the impact you want. It doesn’t serve anyone’s purpose.”

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"I think he has not big know-how in motorsport" - F1 pundit on Alpine CEO

Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero, who was also the guest in the podcast, mentioned that the Alpine boss Laurent Rossi was not a 'stupid' man but claimed that he does not have the know-how of the sport.

He said:

“I’m sure Laurent Rossi is not a stupid man as you said but at the same time, I think he has not big know-how in motorsport. So, we have to, I think, consider the effect of this kind of speech when you are managing a Formula 1 team. Honestly, I hope that he had a target with that speech. I don’t know if the team principal the team manager or someone because it didn’t specify anything. If you say we are amateurish, what does it mean?"

He added:

"Because the car was fast on some tracks. We are still trying to understand what this car can achieve because sometimes it’s in the top 10. Sometimes, it’s far, it’s difficult. But, if you speak in that way, I don’t understand.”

It would be interesting to see if Alpine can make an upsurge in terms of performance to counter their CEO's criticism about their lack of results in the first five races of the season.