Mood inside ‘quite chaotic’ Formula 1 team has really improved this season

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The mood at Formula 1 team Alpine has improved during 2023 after widespread changes were made midway through the season.

Journalist Frederic Ferret has shared the latest he’s heard from within the French outfit as the F1 season comes to an end.

The final two races of the season could earn plenty of teams in the paddock tens of millions of pounds if they pick up some positive results.

Mercedes and Ferrari are fighting to finish runners-up to Red Bull and it’s still all to play for between McLaren and Aston Martin.

The bottom four teams are separated by just 16 points and there’s a huge difference in prize money between finishing seventh and last.

There are only two teams who have nothing to play for in the Constructors’ Championship.

Red Bull have more than doubled the points tally of Mercedes and Max Verstappen would be leading the standings on his own at this stage.

The other team is Alpine, who will finish 2023 in sixth place, although the mood within the camp has improved.

Their drivers don’t necessarily see eye to eye but big changes have been made at the top of the team.

It all came to a head in Spa after a torrid run of form.

Mood at Alpine has improved in 2023

Asked how the team has coped this season, the L’Equipe journalist Ferret said on the F1 Nation Podcast: “I think that even if the results are not as good as they were expecting, it will be a good year because they decided to have a huge change in the team.

“It was quite chaotic in the summertime with the big boss being sacked and the team principal being sacked, but at the end now they move on on a new platform and they’re ready to work on.

“If you speak inside the team, the atmosphere has really changed [for the better]. Of course, everybody is coping together more than before.

“There is less pressure maybe because they knew even before the boss was sacked that they will finish sixth.

“It was quite obvious that there was no chance to do better but now they’re working on a new platform and they’re hoping for the best for next year.”

In the middle of 2023, Alpine sacked team principal Otmar Szafnauer, sporting director Alan Permane and chief technical officer Pat Fry headed to Williams with the mood at the team at an all-time low.

They enter next season knowing that they need to improve on this season’s offering to avoid being dragged into a race with the weakest four teams.

Ocon and Gasly have both proven before that they’re capable of winning races in the right cars.

They’ve got a podium each this season but would love to be fighting near the front of the grid much more often.