After being criticized by company chief executive Laurent Rossi for a disappointing start to the 2023 season, the team has made it clear that it will not stand idly by as it turns things around.

Team principal Otmar Szafnauer said there are a number of initiatives currently underway to help the team move forward – some of which are underway and others which have been in the works.

The first is the new state-of-the-art simulator, which has just been signed and should be operational by 2025. The team has also recruited a new simulation lead.

Szafnauer said Alpine’s current simulator is about 20 years old, purchased from McLaren about a decade ago, and is now quite old.

Speaking of benefits, he said: “If you have the perfect simulation tool or close to it, then you can start the weekend very close to the local optimum for that race.

“We’ve hired people to help us do more accurate lap simulations, and if you can do all of that before you get to the track, you’re closer to the end goal.”

Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Photography: Zak Mauger / motorsport pictures

While Alpine has increased in size since parent company Renault took over Enstone’s operations again in 2016, the team is still not at maximum staffing capacity.

Szafnauer has said that the example of Aston Martin hiring heavily from Mercedes and Red Bull to speed up its progress just shows that anything is possible.

As Alpine assesses what it needs to do to improve its potential, the team is now looking for a senior aerodynamicist.

“You want to shorten the process,” Szafnauer said of recruiting from top teams. “Red Bull has an aerodynamic team of 50, it’s not one. But the guy who sits at the top of the 50, he has all the ideas. So when you replace him, his brain is full of all this knowledge.

“But once you get that, you still need the 50-person team below to continue development because you can only take shortcuts at a time.

“So, Red Bull I’m talking about maybe 50 people. We’re 38 now and we want to grow to 45. So, we have seven or eight senior aerodynamicists here. We have those places.”

Alpine F1 Team nose detail

While Renault is still fully funding the F1 team, there have been rumors in recent weeks that new investment could come from outside parties.

US car retailer AutoNation became a shareholder during the Miami Grand Prix weekend after announcing a sponsorship deal with the Alpine team.

It’s been suggested that the one-off partnership could be a precursor to a team buy-in, and it’s no coincidence that Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi and Renault CEO Luca de Meo were both in Miami for AutoNation’s home game last weekend.

Szafnauer did not confirm that the stake deal had completed, but he firmly hinted that progress was being made.

“I’m not directly involved in the stock purchases, but I think when that happens, or if that happens, there will be an announcement,” he said.

“The good thing is that people are interested. And I’m sure if we get that type of revenue, we’ll inject revenue into the infrastructure.”