“They took some other advantages”: Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur alleges unfair edge to other teams by breaching crystal clear agreement

Janmeyjay Shukla | 30/04/2022
"They took some other advantages": Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur alleges unfair edge to other teams by breaching crystal clear agreement

Alfa Romeo believes that other teams played games with the FIA in regards to the weight limit of the 2022 season challenger

The new era of Formula One has seen massive changes in the building of the car. Apart from the chassis, aerodynamics changes, and the car’s weight has significantly increased.

F1’s new technical regulations for 2022 resulted in a weight increase from 752kg to 795kg. Out of the 10 teams, Sauber Alfa Romeo was the only team to meet the minimum weight requirements quite comfortably.

Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur shared his displeasure over the weight limit. He believes that Alfa Romeo is getting punished as other teams are allowed to run heavier cars.

Unfair Advantage to all the other 9 teams claims Alfa Romeo

Speaking to the media, Vasseur discussed how Mercedes and Red Bull have an unfair advantage. He said: “This would have been completely unfair. During the project, we took some decisions in terms of complexity also linked to the weight, and we made our choice. And you know that the F1 world is like this, that everybody’s trying to play a game.”

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While designing an F1 car, weight is the target number one as per Vasseur. Teams like Aston Martin, Red Bull, and Mercedes have been deemed overweight after the start of the season. He added: “Honestly, I don’t understand all the comments. Nobody can be surprised with the weight at the last minute.”

Vasseur also accused the other teams of playing a game with the FIA. According to him, the teams are expecting that the governing body will increase the minimum weight, even more, looking at the situation.

Other teams are playing games with the FIA

Alfa Romeo’s team principal also made it known that there was a ‘crystal clear’ agreement between the teams regarding weight. Explaining this, he said: “It was crystal clear that the target of weight was completely achievable. We are able to not be overweight.”

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The Frenchman believes that teams might have taken advantage of other departments. He concluded by stating: “If some other teams are not at the weight limit, it’s because they took some other options. Perhaps with some other advantages, but with the constraint of the weight.”

Alfa Romeo would be looking for yet another strong result in Miami as they had points finish in Australia. Tune in to the Miami Grand Prix next weekend.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Alfa Romeo FIA Frederic Vasseur

About the author

Janmeyjay Shukla

Janmeyjay Shukla is an artist who contributes his expressions through words as an F1 writer and editor at The SportsRush. He is an F1 historian who has been watching the sport since he was a baby. Passed on from generation to generation, he has seen the prime of Michael Schumacher to the rise of Max Verstappen. A Mercedes fan from the days of the Brawn GP era, the sport runs in his blood. Besides Formula One, Janmeyjay is a Marketing Head and a musician who loves to sing and play Rock & Pop songs on guitar. His love for sports will never die as he is a loyal Liverpool Football Club fan as well!

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