Alonso wants Alpine to focus on 2023 car: 'We should meet in the holidays'

Fernando Alonso would like to see Alpine fight for podiums this year, but is also realistic. He thinks Mercedes' current pace is too much to handle at the moment and thinks his team would do well to focus on 2023 already.

Mercedes started the 2022 Formula One season dramatically, but it seems to have solved its biggest problems and the team is starting to make strides in race pace. Alonso fears Alpine will not be able to do the same, as his team does not have the same resources. "I don't think it will be easy for us to do what Mercedes is doing. They have a great organisation and we knew that sooner or later they would come back," the Spaniard acknowledged in conversation with Marca.

Alonso is convinced that Alpine can achieve the same, but argues that it is a long-term project. "I think for us it's a question of starting early enough with next year's car," he continued. He doubts his team can manage to develop the new car in parallel with the current season's car. For the big teams it is possible, but for smaller teams it is a bigger challenge, according to Alonso.

As we have come to expect from the Spaniard, he goes straight to the point. "I think we should get together during the holidays. In the coming weeks or whenever, I will sit down with the team to see what their expectations are," said the always motivated Alonso.