Alpine announced on Monday that it will now have three technical directors, with responsibilities shared by Joe Burnell (engineering), David Wheater (aerodynamics) and Ciaron Pilbeam (performance), all reporting to Famin.
The changes, which come after the resignations of technical director Matt Harman and aerodynamics chief Dirk de Beer, mirror those made by McLaren when its technical director James Key moved to Sauber in early 2023.
The Woking team created a new horizontal structure led by three technical directors: Peter Prodromou (aerodynamics), David Sanchez (car concept and performance) and Neil Houldey (engineering and design).
Although Sanchez couldn't start work until early 2024, the changes coincided with a surge in form from the Woking team, which successfully developed the MCL60.
Famin admits that Alpine looked to McLaren's example when trying to find a path forward. “We definitely saw it,” he told Motorsport.com. “He gave us the answer to the question of whether it can work, and it seems to be working.”
“I'm not saying everything will work, of course, but we've seen with McLaren that this type of organization can give a boost. And that's what we're looking for.”
Bruno Famin, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“I think a very vertical structure is less reactive, less suitable for modern F1, where everything is so complex. It is necessary for everyone to proceed together in parallel, of course with a constant exchange of information and communication.”
Famin says the team's poor performance in testing in Bahrain and in the season-opening race was not the cause of the shake-up, which has been in question for some time.
“The timing of the changes has nothing to do with weekend performance,” he said. “There is no connection between our performances and the departure of Matt and Dirk.”
“The real thing is that we have been thinking about how to move to the next phase of the Alpine project. For some time, even when it came to Renault, we have been taking one step forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back, etc. We are not generating the dynamic of progress that we would like”.
“And then we thought the time had come to change our approach from a technical point of view, and this is the real reason for the changes.”
Famin says the team needs to demonstrate constant improvement in the coming seasons.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524
Photo by: Alpine
“The dynamic I'm talking about is we want to be on a trajectory of progress from year to year,” he said. “Of course, with ups and downs, we know it's not that easy in F1.”
“I'm talking about a multi-year dynamic, in which we can be ever closer to the top, which is our goal to be able, in the medium term, to fight for victories.”
“And not to be fourth in the league one year and sixth the second year. We really need to be able to develop a team capable of fighting for the top three places.”
Famin believes that these changes are also a signal to all members of Alpine, which must serve to make it clear that action is being taken to move the team forward.
“When you have discussions with people, you have to be on the same page about what we want to do and how to do it,” he noted. “And we talked a lot about a lot of things, of course, and how we need to have a common understanding of what we need to do.”
“Not doing the same things with the same people over and over will change our bottom line, to put it that way.”
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Photo by: Alpine
“We need to change the processes, change some people, to give the signal that we are entering the new phases of the project.”
“Having the three technical directions specializing in performance, engineering and aerodynamics is the way for us to make the most of the potential of all the guys.”
“It's a signal to all the technical groups and people who develop the car, who race the car, who develop the simulation tools, that everyone is walking in parallel towards a common goal.”
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