Although on rare occasions this season, the Alpine car has come to run faster than the Ferrari or McLaren. Normally it has not been like that. Normally Alpine has been behind both teams and ahead of AlphaTauri and Aston Martin . Therefore, what worries Fernando Alonso is to see these two teams ahead of Alpine . For this reason, he has urged his team to open an internal investigation to see what happened at the United States Grand Prix. Finding answers will be key if Alpine wants to fight for the points again in Mexico, where the next race will take place.
“ In the race the car was much better . I felt more competitive, I was definitely faster than the Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, even Tsunoda, teams that in free practice were faster . So it was a good step forward in the race. But it is still not as good as Sochi or Turkey, ”said Fernando Alonso about his car.
“So we have to keep analyzing , probably for potholes. The suspension with which you run here is very specific due to the characteristics of the circuit. It is something that we did not get right and we will try to analyze and be in our best form in Mexico, ”added the 40-year-old .
No Alpine finished the US GP
It should be noted that both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon ran outside the Top-10 in both FP1 and FP2. For this reason, Alpine decided to change the engine of Alonso’s car, which condemned him to start from the 19th position in Austin. ” We have not been competitive throughout the weekend, so we decided to change the engine here, as the points were going to be difficult,” justified the Asturian before the race.
However, both Esteban Ocon , with the old man, and Fernando Alonso , with his new engine, dropped out during the United States Grand Prix. Regarding what happened, the Spaniard offered the following explanation after the race: “ The rear wing broke . He stared up and almost spun into the fast corner before pitting. I looked in the rear-view mirror, saw that the spoiler was broken and luckily I was able to get to the pit. If it happened in the first sector it would have been more dangerous with the fast corners. We had to withdraw. A shame We would have been in the fight for points with the Raikkonen trope . We will try it in the next one ”.
Fernando Alonso’s statements urging Alpine to open an internal investigation into what happened in Austin contrast with his statements after the Russian Grand Prix, where he stated: “I am very proud of the progress. We are building a very strong team and looking to next year , hopefully the package will be competitive in the factory, but the competition team is ready to fight ”.
Alpine mira a 2024
For its part, Alpine , despite the fact that next year the change of regulations that has led to the return of Fernando Alonso to Formula 1 will come into force, it prefers to reduce the euphoria. That is why he has stressed that his plan is one hundred races. “We have a long-term project. The goal is to reach a level of competitiveness that puts us on the podium as many times as possible in 2024 . From today, in fifth place, you can easily find a roadmap, ”said Laurent Rossi. “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 CEO of Alpine.
“ All we want is to make sure that we have a satisfactory level of performance to start with and that we are not too far removed from the most competitive ; Then from there we can continue our ascent to the top ”, concluded Laurent Rossi.
Alonso’s demand with Alpine
However, in the same vein as Fernando Alonso, Alain Prost, who is an Alpine advisor, said about the next season: “Everyone talks about 2022, because everything is directed towards then, but to do the best possible in 2022 you have to have it. done my best in 2021 , even if the cars are not comparable. “
The four-time world champion would also consider an internal investigation at Alpine on what happened at the United States Grand Prix to be timely and applauds that Alonso is so demanding: “A rider with such a personality brings something automatically. Fernando is very demanding and a perfectionist ”. ” If you are not prepared for someone like that, you are not prepared for Formula 1 “, recognized, for their part, Davide Brivio and Marcin Budkowski.
