Otmar Szafnauer admitted the United States Grand Prix saw an under par BWT Alpine F1 Team, and after a penalty for Fernando Alonso, the team left the Circuit of the Americas with only a single point for Esteban Ocon.
Alonso was lucky to see the chequered flag at all after briefly going onto two wheels following a high-speed collision with Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team’s Lance Stroll midway through the race in Austin, but he recovered superbly to finish inside the points in seventh.
However, a protest from the Haas F1 Team about a potential unsafe car saw the stewards hand Alonso a thirty-second time penalty that relegated him outside of the top ten, but at the same time promoting Ocon into tenth place, the Frenchman having recovered from a pit lane start.
Alpine remain ahead of the McLaren F1 Team heading into next weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, where Szafnauer, the Team Principal at the Enstone-based squad, hopes the team can return to form and consolidate their position.
“The race was a fitting match for an electric atmosphere in Austin today, and I’m happy that we could put on an exciting show for the fans,” Szafnauer said prior to Alonso being handed his penalty.
“After Fernando’s unfortunate incident with Lance [Stroll] it looked like we would do well to even reach the chequered flag, so credit to Fernando for driving superbly to score well deserved points.
“On Esteban’s side, it was always going to be a challenging race after starting from the Pit Lane. He did a good job to close in towards the top ten and was very close to sneaking tenth place at the end.
“Overall, we have some areas to assess as this weekend has been far from our best. We have another race next weekend in Mexico where we’re keen to demonstrate our true potential with both cars in order to further consolidate our Championship position.
“Congratulations to Red Bull Racing on winning the Constructors’ Championship. They deserve it after a very dominant year, and it’s a fitting tribute to the late Dietrich Mateschitz – the pioneer and visionary of their successful project.”
