Alpine lashes out after criticism Norris: 'I guess we’ve got him rattled'

Lando Norris says he has "no clue" how McLaren managed to stay in contention with Alpine this far into the Formula One season, given the difference in performance between the two teams' cars. The young Brit suggested that Alpine must have done very badly in terms of development, but that comment did not fall on good ground with the rival team.

Norris has said several times in recent races that Alpine is making the battle with McLaren bigger than it is and that the team should have actually secured fourth place in the championship long ago. At Suzuka, he again pointed out that Alpine's A522 is "much faster" than McLaren's MCL36 and that the battle the rival team struck in the standings therefore came as no surprise.

Norris criticises Alpine

"I have no clue how we’re still fighting them in the championship. Like… they are another league to us at the minute. And yet we were somehow ahead," said Norris according to The Race. He is happy that McLaren has held out for so long and sees it as proof that his team has done a good job in all areas: both in terms of reliability and with maximising performance and exploiting opportunities.

It leads Norris to a notable conclusion: "They must’ve done a lot worse than us on all of those areas to only just be ahead of us in the championship with the car that they have." That comment did not go down well with Alan Permane, sporting director at Alpine.

Alpine hits back at Norris

Permane waved away Norris' statements, saying the points difference is not important. "Lando keeps saying that doesn’t he? We only just need to be ahead," said the Brit. "I’m not sure why he keeps on. I guess we’ve got him rattled." According to Permane, the French racing stable is not at all concerned with McLaren, but rather looking ahead.

"We’re much more focused on Mercedes. We’re trying to beat Mercedes, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get ourselves on to that level," Permane said. That goal then applies to the 2023 F1 season, as it is not going to happen this year: Mercedes currently enjoys a 244-point lead over Alpine.

Following the double elimination of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon at the Singapore Grand Prix, Alpine lost fourth place to McLaren, before playing catch-up at the Japan GP a week later. While the French team took eighteen points, the Woking-based stable had to settle for one paltry point ahead of Norris. As a result, Alpine is currently back in front with a thirteen-point gap to McLaren.