After the first three appointments of the 2022 season, the natural order of the grid has begun to become clearer, with an almost uncontested dominance of Ferrari, who have indicated that they will not update their F1-75 on arrival in Europe for the celebration from the race to the sprint in Imola.
However, at Alpine, through its chief executive, Otmar Szafnauer , they say that among their plans is the idea of introducing a new parts package at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
“We are going to bring some updates to Imola, that’s for sure,” said the Romanian. “I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone did it at this circuit, it seems that in my 25 years in this, for whatever reason, the first European races are where everyone plans their upgrades.
“Before it was Barcelona, now it’s Imola, but it’s also the fourth round, so around the fourth or fifth round, everyone brings improvements, so we’ll introduce some too,” explained the Enstone team boss.
Szafnauer hinted that the changes will focus on a single area, which could be the bottom of the A522 : “It’s the part that makes the biggest difference, that’s what’s going to change, it’s not a bit of everything, and it should be something. significant”.
The Alpine insider believes the team’s good form in the races in Saudi Arabia and Australia, where Fernando Alonso could have taken pole position had he not had an oil seal problem, bodes well for Imola.
“Melbourne has characteristics that other tracks also have, so we’ll be quick elsewhere,” Szafnauer added. “Our car is strong in some areas, and it’s not weak in anything, but it’s less strong than others, and this circuit (Albert Park) and Jeddah were quite good, so I think Imola will be a good place for us.” .
The boss of the French affirms that the new rules for 2022 have achieved the objective of improving the show, and thinks that Alpine has possibilities to establish itself as the best in the middle zone, behind the leaders.
“I think Mercedes hasn’t won and they’re the second team in the world, and we’re struggling in the middle, so we plan to be that team, and we’ll work hard to make sure we are,” Szafnauer said.
As for the budget cap , he thinks it will make things difficult for Mercedes as they still have to work out their current problems, and that could give them a chance to compete against Brackley’s as the year goes on.
“In the past, they would have the money and the resources to fix it, so now, perhaps one of the factors that limits them from investing their great potential is the budget limit,” he continued.
“I think this helps too, and I think rightly so it’s the same for everyone, so let’s not change it,” Alpine’s Formula 1 chief executive said.
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