Otmar Szafnauer insists that Alpine are going in the right direction to give Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon the car they need.
Alpine’s 2022 so far has been a mixed bag of results. They’ve shown that they have the pace, but results haven’t gone in their way in most cases. Their aim remains to be on top of all the other midfield teams throughout the year.
At the season opener in Bahrain, they earned a well deserved double points finish, but in the following race in Jeddah, Alonso had to retire due to engine problems, citing concerns with their reliability. At last week’s Australian GP, Alonso was on his way to setting a blistering lap during Q3, but crashed, which meant he started the race on P10.
His strategy to start the race on hard rubber didn’t particularly work, especially after Sebastian Vettel’s crash neutralized his tyre advantage.
Szafnauer remains adamant that in-spite of their strong pace, there are areas in which they can improve. He does not rule out the likes of McLaren, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Aston Martin getting better as the year progresses.
Also read: Fernando Alonso rues missing out on podium after crashing in Australian GP qualifying
Long way to go for Fernando Alonso and Alpine in the 2022 season
Alonso recently revealed his desire to stay in F1 for two-three more years. He didn’t confirm that he’ll spend them at Alpine, so if the car isn’t up to mark, he may choose to jump ship elsewhere.
Szafnauer, who joined the Enstone based outfit this year, is confident that Alpine can build a car good enough for him. He does not see Alonso’s old age as a disadvantage, insisting that the Spaniard is still on the top of his game.
“I remember when I was 40 and I didn’t get tired,” he said. Now I’m 57 and I do get tired. This year, what we have to do with Fernando. And also with Esteban, is to improve the car more than the others.”
“If we do that, what we learn this year we can apply it next year. At the end of the year we will be able to see how our learning has been, compared to the rest.
“We will give Fernando the car he needs,” the former Aston Martin boss said. “We’ll see how the season goes. It’s just started. But I don’t think we did a bad job in the winter. We will improve during the season. We will go up.”
Also read: Alpine boss responds to Fernando Alonso questioning why Esteban Ocon is not facing similar issues
