Fernando Alonso has rejected the possibility of extending his stay at Alpine , accepting an offer to join Aston Martin on a “multi-year” contract, which will extend his Formula 1 career until at least the end of the 2024 season.
Alpine has reached the summer break in fourth position in the constructors’ championship, with 99 points , compared to 20 for the ninth-placed team and Alonso’s future team, Aston Martin. Otmar Szafnauer , who was team manager at Silverstone until the end of last year when he moved to Enstone, is confident his team will remain ahead of its usual rival.
“I know both teams well,” he said. “I think I know them, because I spent 12 years there, better than I know all the people here yet.”
“And I know that since I left in December, they’ve hired more people, some of whom I helped recruit, including Dan Fallows [from Red Bull ], and Eric Blandin from Mercedes. So I know what they’re trying to do.” , he continued. “And I know that the people that are there, and this team, both teams have great potential.”
“But at the moment, this team is performing at a much higher level. It’s hard to predict the future, but in the near future, for sure this team will continue to perform at that level, if not better,” added Szafnauer.
While Aston Martin’s search for key technical staff has been well publicized, the American manager says Alpine is pursuing its own expansion.
“We have an internal program called Mountain Climber [mountain climber], which consists of hiring another 75 people in strategic areas that will help improve the capabilities of this team,” he explained.
“And together with those 75 people, there are also tools that we are improving, some for simulation, a new simulator, the expansion of manufacturing capacity, some improvements in our wind tunnel, all with the aim of being able to win in 100 runs.”
“So those things are still happening here, and they’re happening fast. We already have 850 people,” Alpine’s chief executive said. “For that, I am confident that we can beat the team that Fernando [Alonso] is going to, during the period of time that he is there.”
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