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Alpine: 'Not easy for us and McLaren to make the switch to 2023'

Alpine: 'Not easy for us and McLaren to make the switch to 2023'

17-08-2022 19:11 Last update: 22:57

GPblog.com

Alpine is in the thick of the battle for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship against none other than McLaren. According to team principal Otmar Szafnauer, this makes it difficult to focus on the car for 2023.

After the summer break, the second half of the season will begin with a triple header. "The first races after the summer break will be groundbreaking in the duel with McLaren. For both of us it won't be so easy to find the jump for the 2023 car, because we both want fourth place in the world championship", Szafnauer tells Auto, Motor und Sport.

Alpine is currently in fourth place in the championship, but McLaren is hot on the heels of the French team, trailing by just four points. The tension between the rivals will only increase after the summer break now that a drama has also arisen between drivers of the two teams.

Fernando Alonso announced at the start of the summer break that he would be moving to Aston Martin in 2023. This suddenly created a vacancy at Alpine, and the seat would have gone to Oscar Piastri. However, the Australian seems more interested in McLaren, where he may take over the seat from Daniel Ricciardo. Piastri announced on social media after Alpine's official announcement that he will not drive for the team in 2023.

Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes too strong

Alpine is handling the budget cap efficiently, but it is still not enough to compete with the top teams. According to team manager Alan Permane, there is not one area where Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and Mercedes stand out. "They are better everywhere."