Alpine revel in "shambles" recovery

Ewan Gale
Saturday 10 December 2022 15:00

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi has praised his F1 team's turnaround from a pre-season "shambles".

The French manufacturer overcame McLaren's challenge to finish fourth in the constructors' standings, courtesy of strong campaigns from both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso.

The year, however, experienced its ups and downs, with Alonso going on the attack ahead of his departure to Aston Martin, citing "unacceptable" reliability failures.

But even before it began, Alpine's chances of a strong season were written off given the early pace of the A522.

Asked what had pleased him most about the year, Rossi replied: "The capacity of Enstone and Viry to deliver upgrades throughout the season and stay competitive.

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"We started the season in bad shape.

"We arrived in Barcelona, in [a] shambles, I could say, and then the idea was to develop as late as we can, because it was a brand new car and then from there, to try and make our way up the grid.

"Nobody was seeing us anywhere above eighth position, I remember back then.

"McLaren had a very fast car, so I'm quite pleased that we managed to catch up and then overtake them."