Alpine director Otmar Szafnauer believes that the French manufacturer’s team “deserves” its fourth place in the 2022 Formula 1 World Constructors’ Championship after demonstrating, in his opinion, a strong competitive edge over McLaren.

Throughout the 2022 season, Alpine was locked in a tight battle with the McLaren team for fourth place in the constructors’ championship, a position it finally managed to hold on to after the final race of the year, despite some ups and downs, notably due to reliability problems in some races.

Despite retirements, Alpine is consistent

After the final Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi, which was once again marked by a retirement for one of its cars, the team finished ahead of McLaren by a small margin of 19 points and thus achieved the objective it had set itself at the beginning of the year according to Otmar Szafnauer.

“This was our goal at the beginning of the year and we certainly deserved it after showing a high level of competitiveness and being consistent in collecting points in most races,” said Szafnauer after the 2022 campaign.

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“The credit goes to the teams in Viry and Enstone, who have done a wonderful job of delivering a high performance race car.”

“Of course we have had our ups and downs, but these experiences are part of the adventure and we will continue to learn, develop and grow as a team.”

Now the team’s future will be written with an all-French driver pairing of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (who drove the A522 for the first time on Tuesday), with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso leaving the team after the final race of the season to join Aston Martin.

Although Fernando Alonso was clearly disappointed with his year at Alpine, with numerous retirements due to reliability problems, Szafnauer is also keen to thank the Spaniard for his contribution, having scored a large proportion of Alpine’s 2022 points tally (81 in total and 92 for Ocon)

“I would like to send a message of thanks to Fernando for all his efforts throughout the season and for putting in performances that we will never forget. We wish Fernando all the best for his future,” added the American in conclusion.

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