Open battle in the dome Alp for renewal Fernando Alonso. While the Asturian is praised every day in and out of the Formula 1 paddock, things move much more slowly in the Alps. In fact, it was necessary to wait until the French Grand Prix before an important person in charge of the team made it clear that they wanted the Spaniards to continue beyond 2022. Words that contradict the Alpine boss’s last statements before reaching Paul. Richard.

But chronologically, you first have to talk about what happened in Austria and the statements of the boss of the French team, Otmar Szafnauer, piece by piece. His words revealed the truth Enstone’s choice of reserve driver Oscar Piastri over Fernando Alonso.

“It’s not that we failed Fernando. There are various reasons why he didn’t score. I remember Mick Schumacher hitting him and the pontoon loosening. I remember the defense and punishment against Bottas in Canada or the punishment in Miami. there are all kinds of things“, Szafnauer explains in some statements collected by ‘motorsport.es’.

“I haven’t worked with him in the past, this is my first year but from what I can see he still likes to race. He’s a great competitor, he likes to compete and I think you’re happy when you generally exceed expectations in life”, explained the leader of the French team for what happened to Oviedo “I don’t think so. It is a problem of Alp”.

“Everything indicates that the ECU is faulty. So it’s not something we designed, it’s not something we make, it’s something we buy, it’s a standard part. So an Alpine car failed because of something in the car itself or its setup? Like this something? I doubt it, but we must find out why it failed,” Otmar Szafnauer continued. Compare Fernando Alonso’s ‘bad luck’ with one of his former pilots, Japanese Takuma Sato, Owned by Bar Honda in 2004 and 2005.

unlucky words

“I remember Takuma Sato when Jenson Button was a partner in the mid-2000s.We had a lot of engine failures while Honda was in the points position and it always happened to him. So I’ve seen it before.” he remembered. A comparison that was of no use to the Spaniard—Sato retired seven times in the 18 races Szafnauer was on the team.

It wasn’t the first time. Words from Alpine’s Barcelona boss about the renewal of Fernando Alonso and the team’s commitment to him were already causing a stir and some controversy at the time.. It’s something that Szafnauer nurtures again as he talks about his reserve driver, Australian Oscar Piastri, while negotiations with the Spaniard are pending.

And if the comparison with Sato was disgusting, The words about Oscar Piastri were unfortunate, to say the least. Fernando Alonso’s contract expires this season. It’s free and very hard to understand at this point in the World Cup.

“We haven’t made a decision about next season’s co-driver, but Oscar already has potential for Formula 1,” he said. Since this year he has been with us, attending all the briefings with the engineers and, more importantly, helping with the development of the car. I have no doubt that you are ready‘, Otmar Szafnauer assured. So his choices seemed pretty clear a few days ago. Did the rest of the team think the same? Many of them raised their hands.

Open battle at the top of the team

The first was Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, who once again served as the team’s spokesperson at the home Grand Prix in France. And he did it to make it clear They want Fernando Alonso to continue with them after this season..

“We are talking about this with Fernando. We are looking at different possibilities for both him and Piastri. They’re both very good and we would love for both of them to drive next year,” said Rossi.

Also, in a regular conversation with team leaders the FIA ​​holds at every Grand Prix, he said he believes both drivers will start in Formula 1 next year, with Esteban Ocon’s contract until 2024. It would force Piastri to drive for another team (everything points to Williams).

It’s a possibility he sees with good eyes, provided he doesn’t lose control over Rossi. “I’m open to giving up the Oscar as long as it comes back to us. Many riders start in other teams to learn tricksand if he does come back, that would be the perfect scenario for us,” said Laurent Rossi.

In this sense, persistentlymaking and constructing screenplays for himself (Fernando Alonso) and Oscar. The idea is that they’re both worthy drivers and we’d love for them to drive next year. I think so, they’ll both be on the grid next year.”

Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, did not want to comment on his future or what happened in the last days. So everything indicates that it will be in Belgium at the end of August, when the first news can come.