If the Piastri imbroglio has highlighted the weaknesses of Alpine in particular on the legal level, this should not overshadow the substantive progress made by the team behind the scenes.
Alpine regularly has the 4th best F1 on the grid and is now ahead of McLaren in the constructors’ standings.
This is obviously no coincidence, as team manager Otmar Szafnauer explained: when he arrived from Aston Martin F1, the Romanian-American found a “great group that worked well together”.
However, Otmar Szafnauer also perceived the current limits of Enstone in particular, he explains.
« There are still areas where some of the bigger teams have advantages and we need to figure out how over the next few years – because it doesn’t happen overnight – to ensure that we have similar capabilities in these areas. »
“This requires the development of tools, partly hardware and partly software. Things they have that we don’t have, so we have to get on with it. And part of that is technical ability through people. »
Also in terms of human resources, Otmar Szafnauer has therefore launched major projects.
“We now have a program where we are hiring between 65 and 75 additional people to complement the skills we already have. It is therefore not a transfer of teams, but an addition. »
“There are also quick wins, in operations and other areas, that I have been able to contribute to. This explains the speed with which we constantly bring evolutions, which you need in a year like this where it’s a big development race. »
“That dynamic could continue, but at some point, if the rules don’t change, that learning curve is going to flatten out a bit and then we’ll be in a different position and make different decisions. »
More than performance problems, however, Alpine has suffered a lot in terms of reliability, recognizes Otmar Szafnauer all the same.
“It’s our main weakness in getting the most out of the equipment we have. »
“There were probably two, three or four races where, if we had had better reliability, we would have scored good points. »
“There is a conscious effort made aside to prioritize performance with the power unit. With a frozen engine where you can only make reliability changes, this was absolutely the right strategic decision. »
“But if something goes wrong and the performance is a bit more stretched, we shouldn’t be surprised and we just have to go ahead and fix the problem as we planned. »
A new culture at Alpine?
The obsession of Otmar Szafnauer, and which conditions everything else according to him, remains the performance on the track: this imperative must concern even the maintenance services according to him.
“Deep down, I always think about how we can improve in all areas. You need to prioritize, and keep looking for ways to improve. »
“I tell people, the whole team, no matter who you are, if you perform well on the track, your life becomes so much easier. Everyone’s work is better, no matter who you are. Whether you work in the canteen or in the cleaning department, when everyone arrives and they are smiling and happy, it touches you too and you are happy. »
“So first and foremost it’s about the performance on the track. What can we do to reach the necessary level? »
It is therefore a real work on the team culture of Alpine that Otmar Szafnauer has finally undertaken. Even if it means sacrificing even more weekends…
“So this approach changes the culture, and it changes the way people think. There are things that have to be done anyway, so they have to be done sooner. Maybe it’s uncomfortable because we spend a Saturday and a Sunday [à travailler] and some of you would have done it on Monday and Tuesday, but if you do it on Saturday and Sunday you get the part on the track or whatever a little faster. »
“And if you do that, if you can shave a week or two off the build time of the whole car, that gives you two more weeks in the wind tunnel. And those two more weeks in the wind tunnel, sometimes if the learning curve is high, it can earn you five or six points [d’appui]. Five or six points is worth two tenths of a second on the track. »
“If you have this car which is two tenths of a second faster for the first race, then you are in a different position and it just becomes contagious. »
“That’s what it’s all about for me. But there are many aspects – with 850 employees there is a lot to do. »
Did you miss our previous article...
https://formulaone.news/aston-martin/mike-krack-on-the-season-so-far-signing-alonso-and-planning-for-2023
