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Oliver Oakes believes Alpine has more performance to show at the end of the current Formula 1 season having been “out of sync” with development.
The French manufacturer has struggled for form all season having endured a wretched opening to the campaign and though fortunes have improved since then, reliability issues have kept Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon to only 13 points and ninth in the constructors’ standings.
While a major step forward has yet to be achieved, Oakes – who became team principal over the summer break – has suggested previous delay in Alpine’s development cycle will mean late performance gains could be found this term.
Asked how he is keeping motivation high for both drivers, Oakes replied: “I think to be fair they’re both, from my point of view, good to work with, massively professional – there’s never any concerns over them being motivated.
“Obviously, they get frustrated, as I would. You don’t want to be cruising around on Sunday with nothing to fight for.
“We know between now and the end of the year we have got some performance coming. I think what surprised us a bit was after Spa and Zandvoort, you hope you can survive, this run of races was sort of what you had but I think actually what you’re seeing, we’re a little bit out of sync.
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal, Alpine F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“We were late bringing what we brought from some of the beginning of the season and then you end up a bit out of sync when others have brought stuff. I hope between now and the end of the year we can at least show we’ve got some performance to come.”
On whether the potential can be unlocked from the updates, Oakes said: “Some people have brought big steps this year, some have brought some that haven’t worked.
“I think we’ve just got to actually see when we bring it how it performs. I don’t think it’s as simple as you know a number from what you’re hoping to bring. At the end of the day, it’s also got to translate to the track.
“I do think it is quite tight in that battle in the middle there and you see it swing, so it’s quite interesting that one weekend to the next, even between drivers at the front actually in the same car and the same teams, it’s quite interesting as a neutral just seeing how much that does swing track to track and also, I dare say, in the battles we’re having.”
