Team Principal of the BWT Alpine F1 Team Otmar Szafnauer has remarked that his team’s fourteen-point haul from the São Paulo Grand Prix will go down as one of the high points of the season. Alpine’s successful day at the track has now allowed them to open up a nineteen-point lead over McLaren F1 Team in the battle for fourth in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship Constructors’ Standings.
After both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso collided during Saturday’s Sprint, expectations within the team were understandably low for the Grand Prix, with both drivers starting from towards the back of the grid. However, a combination of the A522’s race pace and strong strategy calls from the Alpine pit-wall propelled both Alonso and Ocon into contention for the points in São Paulo.
On the team’s bounce back from a tough Saturday showing in Brazil, Szafnauer remarked: “If yesterday was a low point in our season, today is certainly up there as a high. Congratulations to the entire team – both factories at Viry and Enstone – everyone trackside, and the drivers for a fantastic Sunday effort where we’ve scored 14 points and, importantly, extended our lead in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.“
Alpine opted to split the strategies of Alonso and Ocon, with the Spaniard undertaking a three-stop strategy, which saw Alonso undertake three consecutive stints on the Medium tyres before closing out the race with a nineteen-lap stint on the Soft tyres to help the two-time World Champion overtake Sergio Pérez with seven laps remaining to claim fifth-place.
Whereas for Esteban Ocon, Alpine elected to undertake a three-stop strategy for the Frenchman, which saw Ocon complete two stints on the Soft tyre, with a stint in the middle on the Medium compound tyre. Alpine’s decision to close out Ocon’s race on the Soft compound allowed the Alpine driver to make the necessary overtakes to climb his way back into the points-paying positions to secure an eight-place finish.
Szafnauer was quick to praise both drivers for their execution of their respective race strategies to bring home a much-needed fourteen-point haul for the Enstone-based team.
“The race was well executed with both drivers showing very strong race pace, which allowed them to close in on the top ten. We had Esteban on a two-stop strategy where he utilised the pace on the Soft tyre at the start with Fernando on a three-stop with his aim to attack at the end of the race on his new set of Softs. It worked out well with Esteban very comfortable inside the top 10 and Fernando benefitting from the VSC and SC in the closing stages to impressively overtake a number of cars on his way to fifth place.“
With Alpine holding a nineteen-point lead over McLaren in the Constructors’ heading into next weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi, Szafnauer has reminded his team that the championship isn’t over just yet and to remain focused until the chequered flag falls at the Yas Marina Circuit.
“The championship is not over yet until the chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi. We will remain focused, do our normal preparation next weekend, and give it our best to have both cars finish the season as strongly as possible. We’re nearly home…”
