F1 | Alpine disaster: Harman (dt) and de Beer resign

The French team saw a particularly difficult start to the season, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly qualifying on the back row in the Bahrain GP before finishing 17th and 18th respectively, only ahead of the drivers who retired.

But beyond the difficulties on the track, the French manufacturer is facing the prospect of a major reshuffle of its technical department with the looming loss of technical director Matt Harman and aerodynamics chief Dirk de Beer.

According to sources that emerged in the Sakhir paddock, both resigned last month, before the team traveled to Bahrain for the Grand Prix.

While the resignations of these senior figures often trigger an immediate move towards Gardening Leave, it appears that both men currently remain to fill their roles for the foreseeable future, with Harman present on track in Bahrain.

However, there has been no official confirmation on the developments from Alpine, with a team spokesperson issuing a firm “no comment” on the matter. Alpine was aware, from the launch of its new A524, that it would face a difficult start to the season, with its car being overweight and lacking in aerodynamic performance.

However, the deficit compared to its closest competitors left it behind in Bahrain.

The team is confident that developments are underway to help it move forward, as Team Principal Bruno Famin made clear on Saturday, who was focused on finding what it takes to move forward. “We knew that the start of the season would be difficult and that was the case in Bahrain too,” he said.

“That said, we are doing everything we can with what we have at the moment and will continue to find improvements and make progress every time we are on track. Credit goes to the team and drivers for their efforts here in Bahrain over the last two weeks The team's harmony is evident.”

“Next week we will go to Jeddah, a completely different track to that of Bahrain, which will offer us a new opportunity to continue learning and improving our A524 package. The hard work will continue”, added the manager of the French team.

This is certainly not the hoped-for start for Alpine, which now has to deal with a long period of development in an attempt to climb back towards the central area of ​​the table.