Lewis Hamilton name-dropped by baffled former F1 team boss as Alpine called out

Lewis Hamilton shows off his impressive surfing skills

Former Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul believes that Alpine should take a leaf out of Mercedes’ book to rectify their poor start to the season. The Frenchman threw Lewis Hamilton’s name into the mix while theorising how the misfiring F1 outift can propel themselves up the Constructors Championship.

Renault was rebranded as Alpine in 2021, the same year Abiteboul left his post as team boss. This season, they are a lowly sixth in the team standings with significant ground to make up on McLaren ahead of them.

Otmar Szafnauer, appointed to lead the team last year, left Alpine after the Belgian Grand Prix last in July. And Abiteboul feels that the French team have misjudged their driver line-up, with neither Esteban Ocon nor Pierre Gasly establishing themselves as an undisputed leader.

“Two names is one too many,” the 45-year-old told radio station France Info. “When you close your eyes and think of Mercedes, you think of Lewis Hamilton, even though Nico Rosberg did some extraordinary things.

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“When you think of Red Bull, you think of the first cycle around Sebastian Vettel, then the second cycle around Max Verstappen. You need a driver who acts as a team leader, because this power of personification is fundamental.”

Hamilton’s status as the Mercedes leader was called into question by George Russell’s superb introduction to the team last season. The former Williams man was the only one of the Silver Arrows duo to win a race in 2022, and he finished comfortably ahead in the Drivers’ Championship.

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However, Hamilton has reasserted his class this year to build up a 49-point buffer over Russell in the individual standings. It remains to be seen whether Ocon or Gasly put in the performances required to be considered top dog in their own garage.

With Bruno Famin now in place at Alpine as a temporary team boss, Szafnauer has spoken out on his sudden departure, which he claims was a decision taken by both parties. “Yeah, it was definitely mutual,” he said.

“I laid out the timelines as to how long it takes in F1 to effect change. You know, it’s not a football team — it’s only two and 998 technicians, engineers and aerodynamicists, and to change a culture takes time.

“The timeline wasn’t accepted by the bosses of Renault — they wanted it quicker and that’s what we disagreed upon. So, yeah, mutual.”

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