Alpine "trust" FIA to investigate Ferrari Haas link

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer trusts the FIA will "investigate and come to the right conclusion" over similarities between the Ferrari and Haas cars.

The Scuderia has held a firm link with Haas since the American team joined the grid in 2016, with concerns about the partnership constantly being aired since.

But ahead of the new campaign, Haas moved into a design office based at Ferrari's home at Maranello.

With the help of F1's new regulations, the team has jumped from being at the foot of the standings last season to being consistently placed in the midfield in the first three races this year, scoring points in two.

It is understood the FIA was approached by teams seeking clarification over the Haas-Ferrari situation and addressing whether the two cars were too similar, Szafnauer said: "It's a small team that's done well over the winter, from last to sometimes third-fastest team and it's a bit surprising.

"I thought that the pecking order would stay almost the same because generally, in a big regulation change, over the years that I've been in Formula 1, the bigger the regulation change, the more it favours those with know-how and the infrastructure and the tools to actually exploit the new rules.

"So, it's a bit surprising that the Haas are where they are for a small team but I trust the FIA will investigate and come to the right conclusion between how similar the two cars are."

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 on TV: How US fans watch the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend live and FREE

• Today 00:27

Lewis Hamilton reposts bizarre AI video of rapping car ride with Max Verstappen and co

• Yesterday 22:30

Cadillac announce huge triple signing as top Red Bull star joins US F1 team

• Yesterday 21:45

Kimi Antonelli avoids F1 penalty despite surprise engine change at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• Yesterday 20:56

F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve delivers incredible verdict on new Monaco sprint race

• Yesterday 19:55

Briatore to Ferrari? Controversial F1 legend on 'the lover everyone would love to have'

• Yesterday 18:57