Alpine "trust" FIA to investigate Ferrari Haas link

Ewan Gale
Friday 15 April 2022 16:00

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."