Alpine the surprise of 2022? 'Have an extra year to adapt'

Alpine could be a big contender for podiums and victories in the coming season, at least that's the hope of executive director Marcin Budkowski. This is mainly due to the budget ceiling that has been set for the coming years.

Alpine gets an extra year

Alpine shocked the Formula One world when Esteban Ocon won the Hungarian Grand Prix. But Budkowski wants more than that one win and says the budget ceiling can help greatly with that. "We are lucky enough, if you want, to have an extra year to adapt to it," said the Pole to Autosport.com about the budget cap.

Budkowski says that Alpine F1 team has an extra year, because the French team does not yet reach the current ceiling in terms of spending in a year. This while the big teams like Mercedes and Red Bull Racing are way above it. "However, with the cap going down and a whole new car for next year we are above for next year, so we're there or thereabouts," Budkowski revealed.

Multiple paths to success

"There are very different models around the pitlane in terms of make or buy. We produce a significant proportion of our parts in house in Enstone and to do that you just need more people," he continued.

According to Budkowski, however, adhering to the budget ceiling is not as obvious as it seems. "It just changes your approach to development, you have to make sure that every run counts but you have to make sure that you do more preparation before you actually put the part in the tunnel," concluded Budkowski.