When Lando Norris took the checkered flag Sunday within the Components 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he not solely captured his fourth win of the season but in addition clinched the 2024 Constructors’ Championship for McLaren, finishing a surprising turnaround for the workforce. After starting the 2023 marketing campaign behind the grid, McLaren completed the 2024 season on the prime of the pile, bringing residence the most important trophy to Woking for the primary time since 1998.
Nevertheless, that was not the one beautiful turnaround the game noticed this season.
A bit additional again on the grid, Pierre Gasly crossed the road in P7, forward of Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg. That outcome clinched P6 within the Constructors’ Championship for Alpine, finishing a dramatic reversal of fortune for the Enstone-based operation. After the yr started with Gasly and Esteban Ocon behind the sector, a blinding closing stretch for the workforce, which started at america Grand Prix in Austin on the finish of October, noticed Alpine climb up entrance ninth to complete sixth.
“It’s an awesome achievement to finish the season in sixth place within the standings. The turnaround within the second half of the season by the workforce has been superb and reveals that the onerous work and dedication of everybody at Enstone and Viry has paid off,” mentioned Group Principal Oliver Oakes within the workforce’s media report following the race. “The workforce by no means gave up, by no means overpassed the tip aim, and we are able to take that confidence and momentum into 2025.”
The workforce introduced a collection of upgrades for the A524 to america Grand Prix, and as Gasly instructed me forward of that race the aim was to “end in Abu Dhabi in a positively higher place that we’re in:”
“I’m not going to go along with, you understand, a place as a result of it will not be the appropriate goal for me. The goal is de facto to see that we’ve developed the automobile from the place we’re for the time being,” started Gasly. “I feel we type of began badly, type of managed to make some progress after which type of like acquired out-developed a bit by another groups. So we type of went again a bit now.
“Now we have a few upgrades coming and I feel it is going to be vital to complete in Abu Dhabi in a positively higher place that we’re in. Whether or not it is going to be adequate to struggle for factors, I don’t know. Clearly, I hope so.
“However so long as I simply see no matter we’re engaged on really delivers on monitor, then it brings some confidence into the instruments and improvement we’re doing and that can imply that what we’re doing for subsequent yr may even deliver us in a a lot better, a lot better spot.”
Mission, completed.
Whereas Gasly completed twelfth in america Grand Prix outcomes improved from there. He picked up a tenth-place end the next week on the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, and he and Ocon mixed for a surprising double-podium outcome the next week on the São Paulo Grand Prix. That outcome, coupled with Gasly’s P7 within the F1 Dash Race in Brazil, rocketed Alpine up into sixth.
Whereas Gasly retired from america Grand Prix after a stellar qualifying session noticed him begin third, he closed out the yr with a P5 on the Qatar Grand Prix and a P7 in Abu Dhabi. Add up these outcomes, and you’ve got an unimaginable tenth-place end within the Drivers’ Championship.
All of the extra unimaginable when you think about how Alpine started the yr, and the truth that Gasly didn’t decide up his first level of the season till the Monaco Grand Prix, on the finish of Could.
The driving force hailed the whole group, in addition to their rivals at Haas, following the race.
“I’m so glad for the whole workforce as we now have achieved sixth within the Constructors’ Championship,” started Gasly within the workforce’s post-race report. “This season we now have had lows which had been extraordinarily low and highs which had been extraordinarily excessive. Now we have been by way of some powerful moments this yr and I’m so pleased with the workforce’s response to show round our season. We completed it with a aggressive automobile, which has allowed us to repeatedly compete for Q3 and struggle for factors within the races.
“Credit score to Haas because it’s been an awesome battle with them at current races. There was additionally just a little private battle between Nico [Hülkenberg] and I within the Drivers’ Championship for tenth place,” added Gasly. “It was a detailed one at present with him because it at all times is. He was proper behind me, and I knew we simply needed to react to what he did and we might obtain our targets. It felt good to run in third place for a number of the race however we knew that was not our struggle at present.
“Ultimately, an vital outcome, sixth place secured within the Championship, so congratulations to everybody on the workforce for this achievement.”
The outcome provides Alpine some momentum heading into 2025, and to that time Jack Doohan — who will drive for the workforce full-time subsequent season — made his F1 debut for Alpine on this race. Whereas he completed P15, choosing up two spots from the place he started the day, it additionally gave the Australian driver some much-needed expertise heading into 2025.
Thanks to the entire workforce for making the transition as clean as attainable. It was improbable to get again racing, I’ve realized so much and gained a variety of expertise,” mentioned Doohan. “We completed sixth within the Constructors’ Championship, which is nice, I’m glad to have assisted the place attainable to realize that, each this weekend and all through the entire season behind the scenes. Congratulations to Pierre on his outcome within the race and likewise getting tenth within the Drivers’ Championship. I’m trying ahead to subsequent season, kicking it off with my residence race in Australia and persevering with to work and progress with the workforce.”
In Austin on the finish of October Oakes instructed me whereas 2025 is a vital season for Alpine, 2026 is their greatest aim, given the brand new rules that can shake up the game that yr.
“And you then go into the winter, you understand, we’ve acquired it for the time being, the place how a lot effort do you place into the start of 2025? As a result of the brand new guidelines come out in January and also you type of go, effectively, we wish to make a extremely good automobile to begin 2025,” Oakes mentioned to SB Nation at america Grand Prix. “However really, we all know 2026 is crucial factor for the workforce.
“It’s a actual good problem as a result of, really, you’ve acquired to be actually good, strategic, and a few of it’s a little little bit of, I wouldn’t say luck, however in the event you make the appropriate steps and so they repay, you’ve type of acquired extra respiration room to go and concentrate on the longer-term stuff.”
The tip of the 2024 marketing campaign confirmed that Alpine has made the appropriate steps.
Now they’ll dream of larger issues within the years forward.