“We have to improve, the objective of fourth place in the Constructors’ standings will not be enough if we are not able to get close to the top three teams”. On the occasion of the presentation of the Alpine A523, Otmar Szafnauer made clear the objectives that the team had set itself for the 2023 season.
After the first five races of the season, the scenario is very different from what was expected, Alpine occupies sixth place in the Constructors’ standings on equal points (14) with McLaren, but they are no less than sixty-four points away from Ferrari , which currently occupies the fourth position.
Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine, very critical of the Enstone team
Photo by: Alpine
Over the weekend in Miami, harsh criticism rained down on the team, both for the language used and for the voice from which they came, namely the team’s CEO Laurent Rossi.
“The balance at the moment is disappointing, really negative. This year started with bad performances and results. Our position in the standings is not worthy of the resources we spend, and we are quite far, not to say very far, from this year’s final goal. I am noting not only an obvious lack of performance and rigor in the results, but also potentially a state of mind that falls short of this team’s past standards. I didn’t like the first GP, there was a lot of amateurism which led to a mediocre result”.
There are many considerations that can be made on the words spoken by Rossi. The first is an obvious attack on the team’s management, with team principal Szafnauer in the front row.
Already last summer Rossi himself had been very critical of the team in the Oscar Piastri affair. “We found that we weren’t sufficiently prepared on a couple of areas – commented the CEO – especially in the way we structure our contracts with Academy riders, we left too many doors open in our contract because nobody thought that those people would simply leave using that open door.”
Eric Boullier is being talked about as a possible Alpine team principal
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
But today it is above all the results that do not live up to expectations that weigh. Rossi is looking for a new team principal (there is talk of a possible return of Eric Boullier) an operation that could be successful in an average short time, but at the moment there is no certainty. But not only.
Rossi is aware that the team’s structure needs investment, the infrastructure at the Enstone headquarters is feeling the weight of time, starting with the simulator, purchased by McLaren in 2013 and already in service for ten years at the time. The test rigs are also dated, and the CFD systems need updating.
Szafnauer confirmed that there is a plan to relaunch the team, with investments in infrastructure (starting with a new simulator) and with a personnel recruitment plan to strengthen above all the aerodynamic department.
“To speed things up – explained Szafnauer – we need a targeted campaign. Red Bull has an aerodynamic team of 50 people, our group at the moment reaches 38, and we want to grow to 45, we are currently trying to fill this gap ”.
Alpine A523, detail of the diffuser and beam wing
Photo by: George Piola
The economic investment required to bring the team back to being able to count on a first-level structure is demanding, but what Alpine’s top management is studying is an operation that would allow the owners not to allocate a single euro.
The rumors that emerged in Miami report the possibility of a sale of 25% of the team to the US group AutoNation, a company that deals with car transport and resale services in the United States. An agreement that could bring about 210 million dollars into the team’s coffers, but an AutoNation spokesman immediately pulled the brakes, underlining that at the moment the partnership with Alpine is limited to sponsorship.
However, over the weekend in Miami (the city where AutoNation is based) both Laurent Rossi and Renault CEO Luca de Meo were present on the track, but declined to comment on the rumors.
“I’m not directly involved in this type of transaction – commented Szafnauer on the matter – but if there is interest in our team, and if we obtain an important cash flow, it will be excellent for being able to strengthen our infrastructures”.
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