Fernando Alonso predicts open 2022 title battle with "no guarantee" for big teams

Alpine

Alonso predicts open 2022 title battle with "no guarantee" for big teams

2022 sees a drastic shake-up of regulations

Ewan Gale

Tuesday 17 August 2021 16:39

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Fernando Alonso has predicted an open title battle in 2022 with "no guarantee" of competitiveness for any team.

Next season will see the most radical regulation changes in modern times with drastically different aerodynamics meaning cars should create tighter, more exciting racing spectacles.

Some teams switched focus to the development of the 2022 challengers early in the season whilst others are still developing the current machinery, potentially allowing for a closing of the field early next year.

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In an interview including GPFans ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix and asked how confident he was of challenging for victories with Alpine in the new era, Alonso remained cautious of his chances.

"I think there is no guarantee and no feeling that you can put on the future on any team, basically," said Alonso.

"Probably even the top teams that are dominating now the sport, they are rightly concerned about the new rules and how they will interpret those cars.

"What you'll see next year, in the first couple of races or the first year of that set of regulations, eventually, you will see the same result for four or five years is what we saw.

"A team that is dominant at the beginning of one set of rules, they seem to keep that advantage for years. Everything gets closer and closer, but the same one is winning."

With drivers such as George Russell and Mick Schumacher potentially being moved through the field courtesy of their junior academy ties, Alonso warned of the difficult choices to be made.

"Next year is rather interesting, especially for the younger drivers, how they decide their future because no team has a guarantee that they will perform well," he added.

"In our case, I don't know. I think this team has been always clever at interpreting rules, has been always fighting. It's not the team that has been spending a lot of money in Formula One in the past.

"I believe that with the cost cap there is some advantage for these kinds of teams, that they are more efficient in terms of money and results as well. I think there is a chance to close the gap, but there are no guarantees for sure."