Alpine boss reveals COSTLY issue ahead of Baku

Alpine

Alpine boss reveals COSTLY issue ahead of Baku

Otmar Szafnauer has spoken very candidly ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Sam Hall

Monday 17 April 2023 21:17

Team principal Otmar Szafnauer has revealed Alpine is battling to have enough parts ready for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon collided following a late-red flag restart at the Australian Grand Prix, with both drivers retiring as a result of significant damage sustained.

While the pair have apologised for the contact and moved on, Alpine faces a race against time to simultaneously build a parts store and manufacture upgrades ahead of the Baku weekend.

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Asked how tough it will be to be ready in time for Azerbaijan, Szafnauer said: "From getting parts ready for the next race, I don’t know yet. It’s a little bit too early to tell.

“But we will pull out all of the stops to get ample spares to the next race and the upgrade we have coming.”

Budget cap bite

An added concern for teams with any form of damage is the strict budget cap, with repairs eating into the funds available for upgrades or other planned expenditures.

On this account, however, Szafnauer expects Alpine to be fine.

“From a budget cap perspective, I think we are going to be ok, so I don’t think there are any concerns," he added.

“It will be costly, so from a money perspective, it probably would have been a lot less costly had it not happened."