The Alpine Formula 1 team is undergoing a significant reshuffle in its technical leadership following the resignations of key figures, Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer. These resignations, which surfaced during a challenging Bahrain Grand Prix weekend for Alpine, have prompted a strategic realignment internally at the Enstone headquarters.
The BWT Alpine F1 Team’s start to the 2024 Formula 1 season has been weird. Just weird.
We’ve talked about two of the other backmarkers on the grid this year, Haas and Williams, already, but sitting even lower than those two in the standings – last, in fact – is the French outfit with the all-French driver lineup.
Three races into the season, the team has netted a best finish of 13th, twice, achieved first by Esteban Ocon in Saudi Arabia and then by Pierre Gasly in Australia. That is the team’s worst start to a season in its short history since moving away from the Renault name in 2021, though even under Renault branding, the results never started off this poorly from 2016-2020 either.
In Bahrain, Alpine F1 Implements locked out the last row of the grid, though not egregiously off the pace when compared to other drivers eliminated in Q1 such as Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu. Finishes of 17th and 18th followed, but coming soon after the race came worse news that the team’s technical director and head of aerodynamics had both handed in their resignations a month prior.
Highlights Alpine F1 Implements
The reshuffle aims to address Alpine’s declining performance.
Joe Burnell, David Wheater, and Ciaron Pilbeam will take on key technical director roles.
The trio will report to team principal Bruno Famin.
The restructuring, originally planned before the Bahrain race, introduces a new “three-pillared approach” akin to McLaren’s organisational model. Joe Burnell assumes the role of technical director (engineering), David Wheater as technical director (aerodynamics), and Ciaron Pilbeam as technical director (performance). These appointments are all internal, facilitating immediate implementation.
Additionally, Eric Meignan remains as the technical director (power unit) overseeing Alpine’s engine efforts based in Viry-Chatillon, France. All four directors report directly to team principal Bruno Famin.