Alpine Chief Otmar Szafnauer Brushes Aside Differences With Fernando Alonso to Agree on Fatal 2022 Issues
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 16, 2021 Aston Martin team principal and chief executive officer Otmar Szafnauer during the press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS
The year 2022 was rather disappointing for the team of Alpine. Fernando Alonso had to end a race early – one too many times. The team head, Otmar Szafnauer, now comes forward to admit to the shortcomings of their machinery.
Fernando Alonso, who ended his role in Alpine, was frustrated with the way things functioned at Alpine for the entirety of the season. And Alpine boss, Otmar Szafnauer, took complete accountability for their consistent lack of progress.
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Alonso finished ninth in the championship with 81 points, which could’ve been different, had the car been more competitive and reliable. Alonso claimed that the stoppages cost him a whopping 60 points.
Otmar reflected on the season and agreed with the Spaniard. When asked about the loss of points, Otmar said, “I don’t know how many exactly, but it is definitely a considerable number. Definitely in the double digits.”
Further talking about future plans, Szafnauer was confident. Talking to Formule1.nl, he said, “We should have a more reliable power source next year.”
Not only Szafnauer, but Alpine’s executive director, Bruno Famin, also shared the team’s future plans for 2023.
Bruno Famin spoke about Alpine’s future
Alpine boss Bruno Famin delved into the issues that the F1 team was facing and got candid about the development that Alpine will go through in the year 2023.
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Japanese Grand Prix – Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan – October 9, 2022 Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in action during the race REUTERS/Issei Kato
Talking to Media, he said, “We took quite a lot of risk.”
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“The risk we took is in trying to develop as late as possible the engine and taking the risk not to do the full validation process we could have done normally. We really wanted to push to the very last moment, and sometimes a bit too late because we had some issues.”
He shared that the team was now working on a ‘very powerful unit.’ The new changes involve better integration of weight and cooling. With a better energy recovery system and internal combustion engine improvements, Alpine is sure to rise to the occasion in the coming year.
To conclude, he said, “That’s really the major change. It’s more than a change in the technical philosophy, it’s a change in the way of working with Enstone, in fact.”
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Watch This Story: Rare 12 year old image of 2023 Aston Martin line-up surfaces as Fernando Alonso announces bizarre shift
Alpine still has a long way to go to compete with the big guns in the field. However, with their new technical changes, their top bosses feel confident. Do you think they stand a chance?
Written by:
Edited by:
Ranvijay Singh
