Alpine’s Baku F1 weekend like nothing I’ve experienced before, says Permane

The French car manufacturer’s sporting director saw first-hand the challenges that Alpine faced as its weekend “snowballed out of control” following a fire on Pierre Gasly’s car on Friday.

At an event where the team had hoped to have a trouble-free run to evaluate a new floor update, it encountered engine swaps, crash repairs, setup changes, pit exit starts, and then a dramatic pitlane near miss for Esteban Ocon at the end of the grand prix. Alpine left the…