The 2024 F1 season began with Alpine stuck at the back of the field. The 2024 season's challenger, the A524, was overweight and as a result, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were squeezed out of the back row at the opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Enstone-based operations have gradually improved. Alpine entered the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 9th place in the constructors' championship standings, three points behind eighth-placed Williams and 32 points behind sixth-placed Haas.
Just one race makes a huge difference.
Ocon and Gasly competed well in the rain in São Paulo and achieved a double podium, with Ocon in second and Gasly behind him in third. Gasly added two points with a seventh-place finish in the F1 sprint race in Sao Paulo, giving Alpine an astonishing 35 points in Brazil and jumping to sixth in the standings.
Coach Ocon said it was a result that “invigorated'' the team towards the end.
“Thank you. Yeah, it was definitely a fun race. It was unexpected, that's for sure,” Ocon said. FIA press conference Before the Las Vegas Grand Prix. “If you look at our dry pace, we weren't up there. But the rain definitely gave us more chances. Yeah, I felt good in those conditions. In 2016, we fought for manners and points. And yeah, we were leading the race for a while, which certainly felt good.
“And yeah, I think it was a really great game because it kind of hyped things up towards the end of the season. Now we can compete closer to the other teams, the teams in the Constructors' Championship. So it's going to be a big battle and it's much more interesting for us. And it brings fun and joy to everyone around the factory.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, it may not rain, but the team had a strong result at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix a season ago, and that could lead to another solid result this weekend. Ocon outlined.
Ocon, who finished fourth in Las Vegas in 2023, said: “Well, I think you have to stay grounded. That's going to be very important. You can't fight for the podium and almost win like in Brazil. However, I finished 4th here last year, which is also very good. It was a strong race. But yeah, it's going to be more difficult this year with the pace of the car in the dry. So, yeah, we need to do everything we can and take advantage of every opportunity that's there. I hope it will be a positive thing for us.”
However, Ocon admitted he is not very confident the team will maintain sixth place in the constructors' championship standings.
“I can only speak for myself here. To be fair, I'm not very confident at the moment,” Ocon said. “As you can see, our dry pace has improved recently and we have made some updates to the car. Things are getting better, but as I said, from one aspect to another. It can be a complete flip on the surface and you can get a decent result and usually these races are when you get a chance so if something happens you still get points and finish the season. We need to know that so we can do that.”
Even if they were unable to maintain their sixth place in the standings, the team had come a long way from where they started the season and had made an incredible turnaround under the guidance of new team principal Oliver Oakes.
