BWT Alpine F1 Team enters a new dawn for Formula 1 in Bahrain with the all new A522 making its official season debut for round one of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Alpine’s striking pink livery is set to be used for the first two races of the 2022 Formula 1 season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi shares his thoughts ahead of an exciting new chapter for the team entering its second year competing in Formula 1.
A new era, new cars, new everything! How do you feel ahead of the new 2022 season?
“It’s always exciting to embark on a new Formula 1 season and, this year especially, there are more question marks surrounding the deeply changed technical regulations and subsequent impact on competitiveness and hierarchy. I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work from Enstone, Viry and the trackside team come to fruition when Esteban and Fernando drive the A522 at full capacity in real racing conditions. There is only so much you can do at testing and this is only when you race that you can really assess where you stand.”
There have been some changes at the team over the off-season. Tell us about the new look team going forward?
“Alpine enters its second season in Formula 1 after a relatively promising campaign in 2021. It was fantastic to see so much talent already embedded in the team and from there it’s been my mission to refine some of the areas, which needed improvement. I’m delighted to have Otmar [Szafnauer] leading the Formula 1 programme and we look forward to having his input and counting on his 25-years of Formula 1 knowledge in driving the team forwards. We also have stability in our driver line-up with Esteban and Fernando, who have demonstrated a strong will to depend on teamwork in obtaining not only good results on-track but also in working collectively in developing the car towards a similar direction.”
How has pre-season testing progressed for the team?
“It’s been an interesting and certainly intense couple of weeks for everyone at the team, so firstly, thanks to everyone for their hard work in preparing every ounce of detail on the chassis and engine and having everything ready in time for the car to be on the track at both tests. Testing is always fascinating with different concepts and ideas and extensive run programmes being crammed in to limited schedules. We had some very positive days across Barcelona and Bahrain and we also endured some slightly trickier sessions with the usual testing glitches and gremlins popping up from time to time. I’m very proud of the efforts from everyone in allowing as much preparation as possible. We were able to conclude the Bahrain Test with our two best days of running and over a double century of laps completed. Now, it’s time to see what we’ve got in hand, so bring on this weekend!”
What are the targets this weekend in Bahrain?
“We will only ever control what’s in front of us and that’s handled in our garage, in the engineering room and at our factories. We’re content with our work and preparation for the season ahead and we’ll only worry about how the championship reads after Abu Dhabi in November and not after Bahrain next week. Esteban and Fernando are ready to work hard and give it their all on track and that’s all I can ask of each and every team member who plays their own part in making this team click. Let’s go!
