Alpine is one of the teams that most impressed in the first three outings of the 2022 Formula 1 season, at least in terms of performance. The A522, both with Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, showed they had a lot of potential, although it was often clipped by some too many reliability problems that – especially with the Asturian – prevented them from taking home a loot of highest points of the 22 collected after Melbourne.
Beyond the reliability issue, which is very important and which Enstone will have to take into account if they really want to fight to be at least the fourth force for the whole season, Alonso and Ocon have the right to smile at the performance shown by the A522s. At Albert Park Alonso seemed to be able to fight for the first two rows of the grid before the hydraulic problem with the gearbox that forced him to go to the wall.
In the race, Fernando was once again unlucky, but in retrospect, considering Verstappen’s retirement, the podium could have been within his reach. Ocon, for his part, finished seventh after a race without great jolts, but very regular. A symptom of how well the cars returned to blue after the pink parenthesis of the first 2 outings were born well.
A question of frame, but not only. Ottmar Szafnauer. Alpine team principal, also emphasized the great work done by the Renault engineers in Viry, those who prepared the 2022 power units frozen at the beginning of the season and now no longer a weak point of the French cars.
The American manager, in fact, stated that according to the team’s estimates, the Renault power units that equip the A522s have just 10 less horsepower than the best power unit. A good recovery, which could allow Alpine to compete for fourth place in the Constructors’ World Championship until the end of the season.
“We think we have made a step forward linked to the power unit and we are probably 10 horsepower from the best. We are in those parts, in short. All this is good, it is very encouraging also considering the freezing of the power units”.
“This allows us to work closely with our power unit team and think about changes to the frame architecture. This will allow us to focus a lot on improving the frame and we owe a lot to the work done by our engineers at Viry. Now it is up to us to continue developing the A522. “
According to Szafnauer, the new World Championship has started in the best way for the category. There is a fight between the teams to win the races, but the fight for the center of the group is even bigger and more fierce. Alpine’s goal is fourth place in the Constructors, but the slow start of Mercedes – considering the budget cap – allows us to open horizons that seemed to be foreclosed until the winter tests.
“From what I could see in the first few races, there is a lot of interest in this F1. 2 teams have won races and that’s good. Mercedes hasn’t won yet but is second in the Constructors’ World Championship. Another good thing. there is a lot of struggle in the middle of the group, many can stand out and be the best in that context. We will do everything to be the best team in that part of the standings. We will work hard to make sure we are. “
“I think the budget cap is a nice help, because in the past troubled teams like Mercedes would have invested further large sums of money to recover. Now one of the biggest factors for Mercedes too is the budget cap, which forces them not to spend. that amount of money and to recover quickly. This helps. And I honestly believe it does for everyone. So I hope it won’t be changed, “concluded the US manager.
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