Otmar Szafnauer made it clear that Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon "let the team down" during Saturday's Sprint in Sao Paulo.
The two Alpine drivers started the session in great positions, lining up sixth and seventh on the grid. It gave them a good opportunity to score a few points, and set themselves up in strong starting positions for the main race where even more points would be on offer.
With this the penultimate race weekend, and McLaren so close behind in the standings, a slip-up may prove very costly. And that's exactly what happened, when Alonso and Ocon collided on the opening lap – damaging both cars and meaning they limped to pointless finishes in 15th and 18th place.
Szafnauer was very unimpressed by his two racers after the session. "We are extremely disappointed with today's Sprint Qualifying result, which has put us in a worse position on the grid for tomorrow's main race," said the team principal.
"We are in a very tight and competitive championship fight for fourth place in the constructors' championship – an objective for which over 1,000 staff are tirelessly working and striving towards. Frankly, both Esteban and Fernando must do a better job to compliment the fantastic efforts of everyone in the team by avoiding on-track incidents and compromising the entire team's performance.
"Today, both drivers have let the team down. I expect more from them tomorrow where we must do everything we can to recover some points from the weekend for the championship. We aim to ensure we go to Abu Dhabi next weekend in a position where we can reach our season goals. Tomorrow is a new day."
Both drivers were simmering after the session as well. Ocon did well to keep his emotions in check in his post-race interview, insisting he was "quite calm". Alonso was less diplomatic – making it abundantly clear he cannot wait to leave for Aston Martin at the end of the season by telling Sky Sports: "One more race and it's over, finally."
To make matters worse for Alpine, Lando Norris managed to capitalise on their mistakes to cross the line seventh, scoring two more points for McLaren. Both he and Daniel Ricciardo will start the main race ahead of the Alpines, putting them in a strong position to close the gap further in the standings.
Just five points separate them ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix. If McLaren can make the most of their advantage, it would set up an exciting showdown for fourth place at the final race of the season, next weekend in Abu Dhabi.
