Alpine chief: 'Previously, F1 was a problem for the whole Renault group'

Although the Alpine team won a race in Hungary this year thanks to Esteban Ocon, and Fernando Alonso makes the Formula 1-fan lick his lips every week with his driving skills, the flag is not yet flying in France. According to director Laurent Rossi, there is still plenty of room for improvement for the former Renault team, although he is not entirely dissatisfied.

Good and bad points

In conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport he says: "The car was not as good as we expected at the start of the season. That raised questions about how well we could adapt to rule changes. Operationally too we didn't always make the best decisions at the start of the season. In tyre choice, in tyre management. That was frustrating. If the car is not fast enough, you have to at least optimize all the other areas. We learned from that."

However, Rossi also sees good points: "But now we are much better in qualifying, by keeping the cars out of traffic. That sounds unimportant, but it's extremely important for us. We have become really strong in race strategy. Budapest showed that. We defended our positions well. Well, Fernando helped a little bit too."

Formula 1 was problem for Renault

So you would say that a victory did put a positive spin on things for the French racing stable: "The victory was not that important. We have fundamentally changed our view of Formula 1. Before, Formula 1 was always a problem for the whole board and the whole Renault group. Now this group is divided into four brands, and Alpine is one of them. We have decided that we will stay in Formula 1 for the next five to ten years. A victory doesn't change our strategy, but it helps us to believe in it," Rossi finished.