Fernando Alonso’s team begins to believe in the plan after he took the podium at the Qatar Grand Prix. Although in Alpine they assure that they work looking to 2024 or 2025 since they think in the long term, in Enstone they are already talking about winning races next year.
This was done by Marcin Budkowski, head of the French team, when asked about Fernando Alonso’s third place in Losail. “ What we show with this podium is that when we have the opportunity in our hands, we deliver on the track . Now we just need a faster package that allows us to get on the podium and win races more often next year , ”he said.
On whether he expected the podium of Fernando Alonso , the head of the Alpine team pointed out: “I don’t know. In a race you are always hopeful, but we had cars behind that would probably overtake us. When you ride in a podium position, your goal is always to defend it, but we knew it was difficult. We believed that the one-stop strategy was the fastest. It was difficult and it was stressful. “
Alpine was worried about its wheels
Marcin Budkowski also didn’t know if Fernando Alonso was going to be able to keep Sergio Pérez behind him. “It was not at all clear. It was clear that if he went all the way, we could beat Checo. But we weren’t sure that he was going to finish the race , even if he was managing the tires well. Keeping the tire alive required a lot of care on the tires and also Checo was behind. We were more concerned about the duration of the wheels than the pressure from Pérez, ”he said.
Finally, the head of the Alpine team said that Fernando Alonso’s podium was deserved and urged both the Spaniard and Esteban Ocon not to relax to maintain fifth place in the Constructors’ World Championship. “ It is a well-deserved podium for a long time . He drove in a fantastic way in several races and completed performances that well deserved a podium. It is good to be able to fulfill it in Qatar. There are still two races to go and we have to make sure that we complete good performances to protect fifth place in the Constructors ‘ World Championship ”, he concluded.
The long-term Alpine look
Laurent Rossi, CEO of the French team, recently alluded to this: “Being fifth is not what we want. Clearly I want the team to compete for the podiums and win at the end of the next regulation cycle, that is to say 2024 or 2025 , depending on how they decide to change those regulations ”.
“But to do that, we will need the team to evolve a bit. I think the team has moved from ninth to fifth, before the plateau we have settled on in recent years. But now, to move to the next stage and become the best team, rather than just the best of the rest, another evolution is needed , ”he continued.
“What I want to do is maintain the momentum of the previous season, so I want to maintain that fifth position. I don’t want us to back down. We have learned a lot operationally this year, and that is always an advantage. We are going to apply that next year, but then we will need to develop muscles to grow and go from P5 to P1, race after race, season after season for years to come, ”added Laurent Rossi.
The CEO of the Alpine team wanted to emphasize that both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon will have to adapt to the new regulations: “Then there is also the evolution of the team in terms of driver performance, which will be defined by the new regulations . We have seen in recent years that aerodynamics have come to be the most important thing. We’ll see where it goes in the future with the new rules: it could be aerodynamic or it could be from other departments because the cars are going to be different. “
Alpine’s 100-Run Plan
Before making these statements, Laurent Rossi had already said: “ We have a long-term project . The goal is to reach a level of competitiveness that will put us on the podium as many times as possible by 2024 . From today, in fifth place, you can easily find a roadmap ”.
“Every year it will be a little better. It is a project for 100 races, four years. In each race we must progress . It can be a progress that is seen on the track or a progress in which not all the small details are seen. The idea is to never stop and see that we are going in the right direction. Next year will be a year to launch the coins, ”added the Alpine CEO.
For his part, Fernando Alonso , responded to his words like this: “We are going step by step, the first thing is to see how the regulations for next year will affect, how competitive they will all be. We hope that moment will come before 100 races, we have put everything into this project so that Alpine reaches the top ”.
