"This is what happens when you fire Alonso": Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer criticised by fans for a poor start to the season

Alpine has had questionable performances so far this season in contrast to what the team was expecting to extract from their car. Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have found it hard to battle for points during races, and the team has hardly been able to keep up with their performances last year.As Otmar Szafnauer recently revealed, there has been an issue with the set-up of the cars, especially during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last week. Since the team had high expectations from the car at the beginning of the season, there has been a backlash on social media given their poor performances.Many believe that Alpine are suffering because of the departure of Fernando Alonso. Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter:&quot;This is what happens when you fire Alonso.&quot;DRS on F1@Formula_DRS@formularacers_ This is what happens when you fire Alonso22@formularacers_ This is what happens when you fire AlonsoGaby🧡@komygaby@formularacers_ He said last week that his team and drivers are capable to fight for second in the constructors championship 🤔🤔. That’s their main goal not the middle field this year4@formularacers_ He said last week that his team and drivers are capable to fight for second in the constructors championship 🤔🤔. That’s their main goal not the middle field this yearHenriette@Henriet80754030@formularacers_ But you have a MUCH better driver line-up this year compared than last year and you are aiming for P2..... Right?@formularacers_ But you have a MUCH better driver line-up this year compared than last year and you are aiming for P2..... Right?I forgot@las19221@formularacers_ They arrived with less then Monza level downforce rear wings on Friday. What did they expect11@formularacers_ They arrived with less then Monza level downforce rear wings on Friday. What did they expectMany feel that Esteban Ocon was dependent on his former teammate Fernando Alonso for the car's setup. &quot;So it was true all along, Ocon is a set-up merchant who doesn't know hot to adjust his car,&quot; one user Tweeted.Alfie Solomons@Alfie_Solomons_@formularacers_ So it was true all along, Ocon is a set-up merchant who doesn't know hot to adjust his car .1495@formularacers_ So it was true all along, Ocon is a set-up merchant who doesn't know hot to adjust his car 😭😭😭😭. https://t.co/EG2FdQYwfjzxjzlx@zxjzlx@formularacers_ Literally9@formularacers_ Literally https://t.co/SaUvXOsjKEAlpine boss blamed new Sprint weekend format for the poor car setupThe Azerbaijan GP saw the debut of the new Sprint race weekend format, which was approved earlier by Formula 1 authorities. The format included two separate qualifying sessions; one each for the sprint and the main race at the cost of practice sessions. This gave teams and drivers limited time to set up their cars and was one of the main subjects of criticism.Szafnauer, too, blamed the limited time they had over the weekend for Alpine's performance. He said (via Formu1a.uno):&quot;We very much started on the backfoot on Friday, and since then, we were not able to make any kind of recovery in any of the sessions.&quot;&quot;We were quite far off on car set-up on Friday during practice, and with such limited running – notably with some reliability issues on both cars – we left ourselves with a mountain to climb for the remainder of the weekend.&quot;Pierre Gasly also faced an issue with his engine during practice, which saw him retire. This might have been one of the reasons why the team wasn't able to work on their car properly.Szafnauer feels that the Miami Grand Prix will be much better for Alpine.

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