Alpine have confirmed the departure of stalwart Rob White as the turmoil inside the F1 2024 strugglers continues following a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix for the Enstone-based outfit.
White had two decades at the Renault-owned outfit, playing an instrumental role in the team’s World Championship success with Fernando Alonso in 2005/06.
Alpine sack another long-serving F1 stalwart
According to the BBC, White was informed of his sacking by team principal Bruno Famin earlier this week with the decision communicated to the team’s Enstone workforce on Wednesday.
White is the latest senior figure to leave Alpine, who publicly fired team principal Otmar Szafnauer and long-serving sporting director Alan Permane over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend in July 2023.
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Per the BBC, an Alpine spokesperson said: “As part of the team’s wider operational restructure, we can confirm the departure of Rob White.
“The team is thankful for Rob’s efforts during his long career both at Enstone and at Viry-Chatillon, where he led the championship-winning engine project in 2005 and 2006.
“We wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
The confirmation of White’s dismissal comes with Alpine sitting ninth in the F1 2024 Constructors’ standings, having scored just two points across the first eight races of the new season.
Pierre Gasly doubled the team’s points tally for the season by finishing 10th at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, but that told only half the story after the French driver was involved in a dramatic first-lap clash with team-mate Esteban Ocon.
Ocon’s car was launched airborne as he attempted to complete an aggressive overtake on Gasly at Portier, with the latter forced to retire following a heavy landing.
It was the latest in a series of flashpoints between Gasly and Ocon, who are known to have had an uneasy relationship since their junior careers, with previously unseen footage from the opening lap showing the pair briefly making contact on entry to Massenet just moments before they came to blows.
The clash sparked a furious response from Famin, who is reportedly considering benching Ocon for next weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix as punishment for sparking the incident with his team-mate.
Famin told French television station Canal+: “It’s sad to see this kind of incident.
“It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see. Esteban’s attack was totally out of circumstances.
“It was exactly what we didn’t want to see and we’re going to draw the consequences. We’re going to make a tough decision.
“If we were fighting for a podium finish at the end of the race, why not, and still… But there, on the first lap, at Le Portier, frankly, it wasn’t the place to make an attack, leaving zero room for his teammate.”
It remains to be seen whether Jack Doohan, Alpine’s reserve driver, deputises for Ocon at Montreal next weekend.
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