Paul Ricard’s inconspicuous circuit measures the strength of a team that raises a lot of doubts and is on the line
Fernando Alonso said at the Austrian GP that Alpine’s failures, whether off the wall or mechanical, had cost him between 50 and 60 points this year. This reality has been viewed as critical by some team leaders, but not equally digested by everyone. While some have bowed their heads after receiving the scolding, aware that it is a tangible reality, others have rebelled. The latter, a mediocre chief manager and newcomer to the team who feels empowered to elevate his tone of voice.
Otmar Szafnauer arrived at the beginning of this 2022 with the band of a tough and effective boss. The Romanian-American left Aston Martin to join Alpine, putting an end to a useless bicephaly that had failed to maximize the resources Renault, led by the enthusiastic Luca de Meo, had put into its new life. breathing in the old glory of the French brand. Few were more proud than the Gauls with their history, and for good reason, but after years of wandering, they needed a stroke of authority. Szafnauer had dealt with everything and everyone when Racing Point (today Aston Martin) was accused of being a pink Mercedes, and the FIA itself even threatened the team’s terror that would rob the grid from reaching its peak. 20 participants per race. . The Ordago went well, Racing Point finished that season and although it is today a giant that can hardly move under the acronym Aston Martin, it showed that it is not lacking in character.
That genius has collided head on with a reality: Fernando Alonso is an old clock that continues to work with a winding mechanism like the first day. Szafnauer doesn’t like the Spaniard (although not with the same acidity as in the McLaren Honda years or before Ferrari, far from it) tarnishing Alpine’s obvious and visible flaws. The head of the French team avoids at all costs to praise the Spaniard’s achievements, or if he does, he puts them in comparison with that of an Esteban Ocon who remains the de facto leader of the team and not just because he French: the results, of the moment, they play in your favor. Although he retired with Alonso in 2021, he took a victory in Hungary (with a leading and essential role for the Spaniards) and that still weighs heavily.
Szafnauer has made headlines in the weeks since he left the Red Bull Ring to land on Paul Ricard due to his insistence on placing Oscar Piastri in a prominent position over Alonso in 2023. While the Australian appeared to have found refuge in Williams, the earlier change was from Renault engines to Mercedes, now it’s not so clear. Alonso and Alpine have been called up after the summer to talk about a continuity that seems doomed to be drawn as neither one nor the other has anything better (or does it?) for the next campaign. That is why the last two appointments for the holidays are central: the first, moreover, on French soil.
At a time when the disappearance of historic circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps is contemplated, fans will have to swallow the bitter pill of the French GP at Paul Ricard with a little sugar. A track which, if there were holes in gravel or sand, would be one of the most spectacular of the year, passing through an inconspicuous circuit in which there is absolutely no penalty for skipping corners, as it is not assumed that it is necessary to to punish. Penalties for skipping the track limits will be a constant from Friday this weekend.
Alpine’s largest dome will be on the circuit, how could it be otherwise. Just like getting married in Covadonga to a good Asturier or Asturier, a visit to Paul Ricard is a must for all leaders of Renault’s parent company. Some will begrudgingly do so, as not much entertainment is expected, but it will be a golden opportunity to get a closer look at one of the branches of the company occupying the most assets. Just in case this is the last time they have a chance to see it up close before it starts its descent into the hells they visited not so long ago.
Source: La Verdad
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