The CEO of Alpine Cars considers that Alpine made the mistake of not fully understanding what Fernando Alonso needed to continue in the team. However, he also recognizes that those needs were out of his reach.
Fernando Alonso he’s going to leave Alpine with a bittersweet taste in his mouth. On the one hand, he has felt very comfortable and integrated, and that has allowed him to offer exceptional performance on his return to Formula 1.
On the other hand, his stage in the Anglo-French formation will come to an end in just over a month after not having been able to find a way to reach a renewal agreement between both parties.
«He has looked more at the challenge, the conditions and the duration of the contract»
The next challenge is called Aston Martin and laurent rossi He has reflected on the causes of Fernando Alonso’s departure, as well as what the CEO of Alpine Cars considers that the two-time Spanish champion will find in his new team.
Alpine did not understand Alonso, but could not do more
The first thing that Laurent Rossi has recognized is that it is very likely that the team and its leaders have not fully understood the needs of Fernando Alonso during this last year.
“It is possible that we did not do enough, it is possible that we are guilty, and I too, of having underestimated the needs that a double world champion has in terms of attention, ”says Rossi. «Maybe we thought that he didn’t need to hear that he was the best, because we all know it … and he knows it. Perhaps we did not do it enough, “he acknowledged in a interview granted to Marca.
“But maybe He asked for that affection in the form of a longer contract and, to be honest, we could not do that. It was clear both for him and for Óscar (Piastri). We had two years of exclusivity with Piastri and if I hired Fernando for more than two years, we would lose Oscar,” Rossi reiterated, who finally lost both drivers and had to turn to Pierre Gasly.
Aston Martin’s challenge, even greater than Alpine’s
Be that as it may, the reality is that in 2023 Alpine and Fernando Alonso will separate their paths. And the Spaniard will have to face a challenge that Laurent Rossi considers even more difficult than taking Alpine to the top.
“They are going to face the same challenge as us, but we have a better position than them at the moment. We are a factory team, we have the engine, we are ahead in progression…»analyzes the French engineer.
“For Fernando it is clear that the duration of the contract was key, but I don’t think it’s just that. Contrary to what people believe, I think that Fernando knows that aspiring to a title in F1 takes at least three or four years.”he reflects.
In Formula 1 it is difficult to win and any new project, whether from scratch or from a restructuring like the one McLaren, Alpine or Aston Martin have faced in recent years, takes between 4 and 7 years to become successful.
«It has taken the powerful Red Bull seven years to return, and that they were already a super structure and they came from winning titles, they were therefore more advanced then than we are at the moment,” Rossi exemplifies.
“I think that Alonso knows that, with that perspective, Aston is further away than us. But he has looked more at the challenge, the conditions and the duration of the contract. His work will not be very different: help a team to grow, as he is doing with us»he concludes.
Will Fernando Alonso triumph in his umpteenth attempt to return to the top in Formula 1?
Photos: Alpine F1 Team | Aston Martin Racing