Alpine CEO demands immediate improvement in F1 team, warns of consequences
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi has issued a stern warning to his Formula 1 team, stressing the need for immediate changes and improvement in their performance. The French outfit currently sits sixth in the Constructors' Championship standings, a far cry from their fourth-place finish in the 2022 season.
Rossi has expressed his frustration with the team's subpar performance so far this season, citing a lack of pace and operational excellence.
In an interview with F1.com, he said, "We started the season behind development targets. We were lacking performance compared to where we wanted to be to cement P4."
The CEO went on to explain that Alpine has made too many mistakes over the course of the opening races this season, further exacerbating their issues.
"When you compound that relatively lower performance and lack of operational excellence, you end up in a difficult position," Rossi remarked.
Changing mindsets and learning from mistakes
Rossi believes that one crucial aspect that needs to change within the team is their mindset.
He explained, "It starts with owning up to your mistakes, to not repeat the mistakes, to learn from your mistakes."
The Frenchman emphasized that it is acceptable to make mistakes, but not to make them twice.
He further stated that it is the responsibility of the team members to improve their performance and operational excellence.
Rossi vowed to make it clear to the team that they need to diagnose and fix their issues.
Otmar Szafnauer's responsibility
Alpine's team principal, Otmar Szafnauer, is charged with overseeing the turnaround in the team's form.
Rossi stressed that Szafnauer is responsible for the team's performance and that there is no hiding from that fact.
Rossi said, "It’s Otmar’s responsibility, yes. He is responsible for the performance of the team, that’s his job."
"He was brought in to steer the team, through the season and the next seasons towards the objectives that we have, which is to constantly make progress, as we did in the first two years – fifth and fourth – and to get to the podiums."
Potential consequences and the road ahead
Rossi emphasized that it is still too early to write off Alpine's goal of retaining fourth place in the Constructors' Championship this season.
However, he warned that failure to achieve this objective would have consequences, and he would not wait until the end of the year to take action.
"If they fail by giving 500% best and turning this ship around, there will be extenuating circumstances and it bodes well for the future," he said. "If not, it’s the rule of business, there’s going to be consequences."
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