2w ago

Why Alpine have enquired about Bottas' availability

www.formula1.com

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3 comments

Pretty terrible article honestly.
With Alpine locked to the bottom of the Constructors' Championship, he wants short-term progress soon.
Having two strong drivers delivering consistently can have a significant impact – as Williams are seeing with their experienced line-up of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
This narrative that it's the driver lineup making the difference is disappointing, especially from formula1.com. Gasly is a good driver and it's not like he's been raking in points. Alpine isn't last because they have a bad second driver.
Secondly, he wants the team to take advantage of sweeping changes to the aerodynamic and power unit regulations next season – and the arrival of Mercedes power, which is widely expected to be among the best, if not the best, engines next year.
Bringing on someone with Bottas' experience could help on both counts.
Maybe? As far as I understand it drivers have very limited impact on the development of the car these days. Plus, literally everything is new next year.
- Feedback from drivers has been very significant in these regulations. Look at Red Bull and Perez. He told them they were going the wrong way in late 2023, according to some reports. Max’s feedback is why their car balances on a knife edge
  Piastri just recently, the Montreal upgrades he said didn’t suit him.
- "As far as I understand it drivers have very limited impact on the development of the car these days." Haas people have publicly said that Hulkenberg joining them enabled them to finally get the kind of feedback needed to solve the issues they had had for years. Maybe that's an outlier case but I believe the ability of a driver to give feedback for car development is valued.