Otmar Szafnauer has been Alpine director for a few weeks, but he has already seen surprising qualities in Fernando Alonso. In addition, he has offered explanations about the current situation of the team.
Alpine has not started the season in the best shape and the first race of Fernando Alonso It wasn’t satisfactory either, but that doesn’t stop new team principal Otmar Szafnauer from identifying the qualities that make the Spanish driver special.
“What I like about Fernando is that, like all world champions, he really pushes. Like Vettel, he leaves no stone unturned. I like that, that’s what competition is about, “says the Romanian engineer at the beginning.
“Alpine has everything it takes, but there are areas that need improvement”
“The other thing he’s really good at is getting a lap instantly. I haven’t seen anyone go from Let me do a lap out to boom! Then you think: “Wow! That has happened”, and then the following: “I’m going to go half a second faster”. It is so. I have not seen that of many pilots »Szafnauer admits.
Assess and act
On a more general level, Otmar Szafnauer He has assessed his first weeks at the helm of the Alpine team and what he hopes to do in the future to try to get the Anglo-French team to meet their ambitious goals.
“Especially a team like this, which has great capabilities, great people and smart people, what I need to do is have a good evaluation of everything. Because if you start making changes from the beginning, you could be wrong, “says Szafnauer.
«Then you say: “Okay, with all my experience, in other teams I have seen that these areas are better and bring performance. So let’s try to reinforce these areas. These other areas are great.” There are areas that I have already seen that we have to take steps forward, but I am still evaluating »reiterates.
“I was impressed with the manufacturing facility, the wind tunnel and the number of staff. The design office has been remodeled. The fact that we design and build our own gearbox gives us a bit of an edge, as does designing and building our own powertrain. Everything is there », he affirms.
Szafnauer has a lot of experience with midfield teams on a tight budget, as it was a relevant character in Force India and Racing Point before the structure was converted into an Aston Martin. And he has no qualms about applying what he’s learned on those teams to Alpine.
“I will definitely apply some of those techniques here. And I’ve already seen that the cost cap will bite. You have to look for efficiency and make good decisions about how many parts you make, how you carry them, when you go from tunnel to manufacturing. Lots of little decisions that add up and the cost cap will be a factor,” says Szafnauer.
An added value
laurent rossiCEO of Alpine Cars and who has led Alpine’s renewal since taking over in 2021, has spoken about Szafnauer, stating that he has already begun to influence the future of the team.
“He brings indisputable qualities and will probably help us raise our level. He already made suggestions the day he arrived because he had been watching last year. So there are a couple of things that I could see », she advances.
“And now he knows the team a little better, he’s already been instrumental in helping us prioritize a couple of things operationally speaking, also fixing a lot of things and planning for the long term. I am very happy that Otmar is already making a difference»Rossi concludes.
Source: The Race
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Photos: Alpine F1 Team