The Enstone-based team has endured headaches in recent weeks after it was discovered Fernando Alonso was moving to Aston Martin for 2023 and reserve Oscar Piastri had signed for McLaren.
Their shock departures have left Alpine looking for a new teammate for Esteban Ocon, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly still a favorite if a deal can be reached with his current bosses at Red Bull.
While the shenanigans of the Alpine rider market have grabbed the headlines this summer and captured much of the attention of CEO Laurent Rossi and team principal Otmar Szafnauer, the impact hasn’t been at all felt on the track.
And that’s why Rossi is confident that the target he set for himself at the start of last year – an alpine struggle in the lead in the 100 races – remains fully in place and needs no change.
“For the moment, we are not going off the rails because we are staying the course [until the end of the year] with Fernando, so it’s fine,” Rossi explained.
“I would say that normally we should just be able to absorb that bump in the road because the most important thing is the car at this stage.
“Imagine if you put Max Verstappen in 18th or 19th, I doubt he’ll do better than maybe three more positions. And the other way around: if you take a driver in that car and put him in the Red Bull, I’m pretty sure he can score a podium and the win, so the car is still the biggest driver of performance right now, and to that end, we deliver.
Fernando Alonso, Alpine A522
Photo by: Alessio Morgese
Alpine is currently fourth in the constructors’ championship and is set to introduce a new floor at the Singapore Grand Prix which should deliver a “massive” step up in performance, according to sporting director Alan Permane.
It was Alpine’s progress on the track that left Rossi so confident he can achieve his goals.
“We are making the right changes, the team is focused and the plan is clear,” he said. “In addition, we are strengthening it. It will therefore always be the most important thing: that the car must perform well.
“The driver will get you an extra two or three tenths, which can be very important in the race, but the gap between third and fourth is much more than the driver could achieve.
“So at the moment we have yet to deliver the car, and the good news is that we seem to have a good concept that is healthy in terms of giving us improvements that constantly improve performance.
