Having just passed the middle of the 2022 Formula 1 season, it is legitimate to count Alfa Romeo as one of the pleasant surprises of 2022.
51 points collected so far, sixth place in the Constructors’ World Championship – to date – firmly in the hands, 17 points ahead of the first rivals. In short, a team rediscovered thanks to the change in technical regulations that allowed everyone to start from scratch.
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur at Motorsport.com explained the improvements made over the past season in the design of the car.
“I think we have managed to make a step forward. We have made a good step forward in terms of pure performance, also thanks to several factors.”
“As always, it’s never just one thing. I think the Ferrari engine has taken a step forward. We did the same job from the chassis point of view as well. And I think Valtteri and Zhou are doing well. Overall, it is a good step forward “.
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Joao Filipe / DPPI
If performance has clearly increased compared to recent seasons, the single-seaters built in Hinwil have also had to deal with various reliability problems that have affected their results in several races, making Alfa Romeo lose the possibility of remaining glued to the train formed by Alpine and McLaren who are playing for fourth position in the Constructors’ World Championship.
“Now, in terms of results, we also had some problems in terms of reliability. This cost us a fortune in terms of points, while in some events we were in very good shape, like in Jeddah or Silverstone, and we are. been with both cars “.
“It’s a real shame for us and for our championship, but that’s the way it went and we can only try to make up for it in the second half of the season.”
Vasseur, analyzing the performance of the mid-table teams, thinks that Alfa Romeo is meeting the expectations of the beginning of the season.
“I don’t think anyone knew what the result of the first qualifying would be on the first day of testing. We were all a little surprised by the situation, because we all had completely new cars on hand and had no reference.”
“Everyone developed on their own and we did everything in the dark. But no, surprised maybe that’s not the right word, because I knew we had made a big effort for 2022 and I was expecting such a situation. It’s definitely a good feeling. “, concluded Vasseur.
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