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Alpine F1 in better shape than this time last year


Alpine F1 in better shape than this time last year

Alpine finished fifth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship thanks to Esteban Ocon’s shock win in Hungary and an Alonso podium in Qatar, two standout results that saw it cross the finish line in the battle against AlphaTauri.

The former Renault team has resumed its ongoing management reshuffle, with executive director Marcin Budkowski and advisor Alain Prost both leaving the company ahead of the 2022 season, while former Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer has been tipped to step down to join the Enstone team in a similar role.

While Alpine endured a volatile 2021 season, the team is confident it has strengthened its operations at the circuit. CEO Laurent Rossi said the team’s gradual improvement behind the scenes is just as important as Ocon’s win in Budapest.

Alonso agreed that Alpine is “in better shape now” than at the start of last season.

“We’re not over all the problems yet, but everyone will have a different opinion,” said the Spaniard.

“Of course, with my experience of working for different teams, I could see that we were weak in some areas and very strong in other areas. They always try to make the team stronger and stronger and better ready for 2022.

Esteban Ocon, Alpine A521

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

“I think we’re in better shape now than we were in Bahrain in March, but I’m sure we still have a few things to fix.

“I think we definitely need to close the engine gap, that’s why there is this new project and we also need to close the aero performance gap.

“It’s difficult to know what the gap is, so there are only hopes at the moment, but I understand that those hopes are for everyone. It’s not just for us, and it’s completely uncharted territory as to what we’re going to find [this] Year.”

Alonso said he believes Alpine now have the right resources to close the remaining gap with the leading teams and acknowledged Alpine will no longer have the excuse, with a smaller budget compared to Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, Formula 1’s biggest financiers, as the sport’s budget ceiling falls from $145 million to $140 million in 2022.

“I’m optimistic that we have the right resources, we have the commitment of Luca de Meo, of Laurent Rossi, all our management, they are committed to the formula,” he added.

“The budget cap should help because there isn’t an unlimited budget for the top teams. Now it’s more or less the same budget for everyone and it’s up to us to build a good car. If we don’t do it, we’ll get out of it to learn.” our mistakes.

“But there’s no more ‘we have less budget’ or ‘we have less resources’ or ‘they use two wind tunnels’ anymore. There are none of those things anymore. So it’s up to us.”

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