Renault’s Inability to Supply Crucial $200,000 Weapon, Which Ruined Esteban Ocon’s Race, Sparks Strong Measures From Alpine Boss Otmar Szafnauer

Renault is one of the oldest constructors in Formula 1, joining the sport in 1977. But in 2021, it rebranded to Alpine to promote the Renault Group’s sportscar brand. The Enstone team’s car is essentially the Renault car with a new name. And since 2021, Alpine has done pretty well as a team, finishing 2021 in fifth and 2022 in fourth as best of the rest. But 2023 hasn’t been too consistent so far. Alpine didn’t start the year on the best foot. But after a warning from CEO Laurent Rossi, the performances picked up, with Esteban Ocon even scoring a podium in Monaco. But its form seems to have slipped again, especially considering its double DNF at the British GP.

While not much could’ve been done about Pierre Gasly’s DNF (due to a collision with Lance Stroll), Ocon’s DNF came down to Alpine’s reliability, a concern that’s haunted them throughout the season. And these issues urged team principal Otmar Szafnauer to speak up about them. But what problem caused Ocon’s DNF? It was a leak in the car’s hydraulic system.

To put into perspective how crucial the $200,000 system is to an F1 car, it controls around nine subsystems in the car, including power-steering, gear shifts, and the DRS, all of it through the steering wheel. So when this fails, the car essentially can’t do much else. Unlike almost every other part of the A523, Renault isn’t Alpine’s hydraulic system supplier.

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According to Szafnauer, as quoted by f1maximaal.nl, “It’s a part that we buy, and this part is usually quite robust and rarely fails. This time it had a leak.” Considering Renault can’t do much about the issue since it’s not the supplier, Szafnauer revealed that the team needs to discuss the system with the supplier. Because if it isn’t supposed to fail often, Alpine might not be too happy with the system it’s getting. Alpine can’t seem to catch a break, though, because another element of its car came into question at the Canadian GP.

Esteban Ocon’s “dangerous” rear wing

At the Canadian GP, McLaren’s Lando Norris was chasing Ocon for P8 in the race. But every time the McLaren got close to the back of the Alpine, Norris could see Ocon’s rear wing vigorously wobble, calling it dangerous. It progressively worsened, and Norris reported it to his team, who then intimated the FIA. Once Alpine got involved, it was confident that the rear wing wouldn’t fall off and hence, wasn’t a danger to any driver.

McLaren wasn’t too convinced with the argument, though. After the race—with Norris finishing behind Ocon, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said, “I think it’s a debate that will deserve more time, and I’m sure it will come up again at the next meeting of the Sporting Advisory Committee.” So while Alpine has reliability issues to sort out, it also has security concerns that need addressing.

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Do you think Alpine and Esteban Ocon can turn their season around?