Such a disappointing start could not fail to lead to seismic movements in the technical department. Alpine today announced the restructuring of the department which will have to get the A524 back on track as soon as possible after the terrible start to the season which took place last weekend in Sakhir.
The team directed by Bruno Famin has had to deal in the last few hours with the resignations presented by technical director Matt Harman and the head of the aerodynamic department Dirk de Beer. An almost inevitable resignation, considering the double step backwards taken in just one season and little more than the fourth place in the Constructors' World Championship obtained in 2022.
At that point the team based in Enstone had to take measures to give new shape to the technical department, introducing a three-figure structure which had already been adopted a short time ago also by McLaren.
The new technical director of engineering will be Joe Burnell, the technical director of aerodynamics will be David Wheater (who was already at Enstone from 2000 to 2013 and returned to the team after 9 seasons in Williams), while Ciaron Pilbeam will be the technical director regarding the performance of the vehicle. All three will report to team principal Bruno Famin.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Photo by: Alpine
As for Viry's engine department, it will be commanded by the technical director for the power units Eric Meignan, who will mainly focus on the project for the 2026 engine, when the rules will drastically change and the single-seaters will no longer be those born from the current technical line which debuted in early 2022.
Alpine also confirmed that these changes are nothing more than the first, strong response to the enormous difficulties encountered at the start of the season. The farewells of Harman and de Beer did nothing but accelerate the process of reorganization of the technical structure.
“We decided to make these organizational changes because we clearly see that we are not where we want and need to be in terms of performance,” Famin said. “The time has come to take another step forward in terms of organization and people.”
“The new three-pillar structure with three technical directors, each specializing in different areas, will improve work and collaboration between our technical areas and help ensure performance from the factory to the track.”
“I have full confidence in Joe, David and Ciaron's ability to work closely together to ensure the team delivers the performance and improvements it needs.”
“Finally, I would like to thank Matt and Dirk for their commitment to the team over the past two years and wish them all the best in the next chapter of their careers.”
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