• Alpine, the French team in Formula 1, fulfilled its objective set at the start of the season by finishing fourth in the constructors' classification.

  • Behind the scenes, she had to deal with the departure of Fernando Alonso and the refusal of his young driver, Oscar Piastri, to ride for her.

  • On the track, the battles between Alonso and Ocon gave some cold sweats to Laurent Rossi, the boss of Alpine, and his teams.

An episode which also served as an apprenticeship for Laurent Rossi, in terms of managing drivers on the track: "We let them race as much as they wanted against each other, until it created damage to the team, that we find ourselves injured.

What was unacceptable, they knew it, they heard it.

It will serve as a precedent.

"And surely training, before the arrival of Pierre Gasly to drive alongside Esteban Ocon, from the Bahrain GP, ​​March 5, 2023. as a driver, it's something I had never seen in the past, so many parts, different cars between races, it was impressive.

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The feeling of duty accomplished for the boss of Alpine, Laurent Rossi, without showing off: “This season is just in my hopes, we achieved our goal, so that's good.

It's been a great season and I'm proud of what the members of Alpine have achieved.

The prospects are good because we have a fast single-seater and a team that works well.

Satisfying yourself with being fourth is good, but what is most important is that it is only the beginning of a march that will be more and more difficult”, he predicts.

A fourth place, therefore, ahead of competitor McLaren who had beaten them last season, but without a podium or victory, unlike 2021 and the Hungarian Grand Prix won by Esteban Ocon.

“A little lack” for the Norman driver, “even if the season was better and solid overall.

We are working on it, and we will get back there [on the podium] quickly, ”he hopes.

Weaknesses at the start, an unprecedented development

An Esteban Ocon sure of the future strengths of his team, in view of the work undertaken during the season, more than on the development of the new single-seater during last winter.

“The car has improved enormously, that's what I told the team during the last race, he recalls.

We started with a car that was further ahead than last year's, but the difference is that the team gave itself the means to bring in parts, new features, ideas.

As a driver, it's something I had never seen before, so many parts, different cars between races, it was impressive.

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An opinion shared by his boss, "we found innovations at Enstone and we brought them to the track, performance has increased, it's quite rare, but we were, with Mercedes, the team that has the more progress throughout the season.

Without veiling the face on "things to address", or in other words, to settle.

On reliability, and in particular the water pumps, "really one of the black points of the season".

Piastri, "the most painful episode"

But the most painful for Alpine this season is rather around the management of the pilots and the management.

The French team had to suffer a real affront when Oscar Piastri, hatched from the lower categories, publicly disavowed Alpine, to finally join McLaren.

And this, a few hours after the announcement of the departure of Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin.

“Fernando's departure is something that made us sad because he's a driver that we appreciate, but that basically everyone understands: for contractual reasons and the law of the market.

He is a great champion and I will miss him because he is an incredibly successful person.

But that's part of what happens in the off-seasons, we move on, ”evacuates Laurent Rossi.

Unlike the Piasti case.

Oscar, it's much more difficult in truth, it was much more disappointing.

Because it brought to light a certain naivety and a weakness in our contracts.

But that is, somewhere, a bit of a kind of collective naivety, and that's why people like Toto Wolff [Mercedes director] or Christian Horner [RedBull director] were a little worried about the precedent it sets. .

Oscar is the first pilot, to my knowledge, trained – or in any case supported in the moments that matter by an academy, a school or a sector – not to return there and not accept the conditions that are made for him.

It was the most painful and frustrating episode.

Ocon relieved of Alonso's departure

In addition to managing his drivers for next year, Laurent Rossi also had to deal with a stormy end to the season between Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, punctuated by a collision between their two single-seaters during the sprint race in Brazil. , and a few names of birds exchanged between the two pilots.

But especially from the double Spanish world champion, with a strong temperament.

“Of course I was disappointed by his remarks, which came out more in the press than internally.

I prefer when it stays in private and we explain ourselves man to man.

I would always have respect for him, but it's good that he's going to Aston Martin and that we're on our way, ”prefers to evacuate the French driver, while being satisfied to have finished ahead of his teammate in the standings. pilots.

An episode which also served as an apprenticeship for Laurent Rossi, in terms of managing drivers on the track: "We let them race as much as they wanted against each other, until it created damage to the team, that we find ourselves injured.

What was unacceptable, they knew it, they heard it.

It will serve as a precedent.

“And surely training, before the arrival of Pierre Gasly to drive alongside Esteban Ocon, from the Bahrain GP, ​​March 5, 2023. 

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  • Formula 1 (F1)

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  • Alpine

  • Pierre Gasly

  • Esteban Ocon