The resignations of head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer and technical director Matt Harman have dealt Alpine yet another blow in their early-season troubles.
The F1 team will lose both Harman and de Beer in April. The two submitted their resignations a few weeks ago, and they are currently fulfilling their contractual notice obligations.
Their choice was made prior to the A524’s dismal debut on the track during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which opened the season with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon starting from the bottom of the field.
Both drivers acknowledged that the car had issues both before and throughout the practice session. In instance, Gasly said that there were multiple issues that needed to be addressed rather than just one.
The two Frenchmen also stated that patience will be needed as the team attempts to push its way back up the hierarchy, even though a number of improvements are anticipated.
Although de Beer and Harman are theoretically to blame for this year’s vehicle, their exits do not help the team’s cause.
After a season of turmoil the previous year, the departures are the most recent to plague the team and portend a stormy start to 2024. During the Belgian GP weekend at the end of July, Alpine confirmed that Pat Fry had resigned as chief technical officer and that Otmar Szafnauer had been fired as team principal and sporting director, respectively.
Laurent Rossi was fired as CEO not long before.
Harman departs Alpine after five and a half years, having spent eighteen years with Mercedes, mostly in the engine division. He rejoins the team in September 2018 as deputy head designer.
In contrast, De Beer has worked as an aerodynamicist in Formula One for more than 20 years. He started out with Sauber and later went on to Renault, Ferrari, and Williams. In 2019, the South African joined the Enstone team once more.
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