F1 | : Alpine's 2022 chances: "There is a lot of work going on...it is looking good."
Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski has labelled the progress his team is making for next season and the new regulations as "very encouraging".
Alpine came out on top of a season long battle against AlphaTauri in 2021 by claiming P5 in the Constructors’ Championship finishing 13 points ahead of Red Bull Racing’s sister team. Although, seeing how Pierre Gasly scored 110 of his team’s 142 points, for many it was rather a case of Alpine versus Pierre Gasly. Having kept AlphaTauri at bay, the previously Renault branded F1 team is already looking to the future. Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski has labelled the progress his team is making for next season and the new regulations as "very encouraging". This will be music to the ears of Fernando Alonso as another stage of ‘El Plan’ appears to be completed.
The 2021 Formula One season was very much one of highs and lows for Alpine. The Renault powered team produced an unforgettable maiden win for Esteban Ocon at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Helped in no small part by his teammate Fernando Alonso keeping Sir Lewis Hamilton at bay for many laps so a gap could build up front. Then in Qatar, it was Alonso’s turn to taste the podium after coming home in P3. Nevertheless, the comments afterwards showed that the team felt the two-time Drivers’ F1 Champion could have already been up there once or twice earlier in the season. For this reason, it is a case of well done but what might have been for Alpine.
Alpine’s executive director Marcin Budkowski feels the team's progress in the factory and the way it operated in 2021 is encouraging for 2022. Such a mindset was revealed in comments published on motorsport.com.
"Given that we've had the same engine pretty much for the last three years, the frozen chassis and gearbox for strategic reasons to invest our resources elsewhere, we've actually done pretty well with the platform that we had," Budkowski said.
"Both at the track and in terms of developing the areas where we could, so it is very encouraging for next season. Now we know our numbers, but we don't know other people's numbers."
"I am certainly proud of the way the team works. It has changed an awful lot in the last few years and that change is starting to bear its fruits. It certainly does at the track, and it certainly does at the factory, even though it is not visible yet because our focus for more than two years has been next year's car.
"But when I see the factory and all the work and interactions and all the people who we brought in over the last few years, it is looking good for next year." Budkowski said.
In comments reflecting the fact that Alpine believe there were more points and podiums left on the table in 2021, Budkowski reflected on his team’s inconsistency and how important it is to get things right straight away with the new regulations.
"I think we've shown it this season that when opportunities came, we were able to deliver them, and there are a few races where we were not competitive and we didn't really know why, so I knew we needed to sort this," he added.
"There is a lot of work going on in the background to sort that, as there is a lot of work going on for the car and on the whole package. It is looking promising."
Having already rebranded last year for 2021 from Renault to Alpine, there are rumours that further changes could be in place for the 2022 season. This follows the recent announcement that Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer is leaving his team. The Romenian-American served the team as team principal for 12 years, in all of its different guises as Force India, Racing Point and most recently Aston Martin.
Such experience which Szafnauer would bring will only strengthen Alpine – if the rumours are to be believed. One can only guess whether this was part of Fernando Alonso’s ‘El Plan’ but it will surely be a welcome change regardless. Meanwhile, for Esteban Ocon to enter the 2022 F1 season as a Grand Prix winner, the confidence of the Frenchman will also be high. All of this may very well result in Alpine reaching its peak in 2022.
