After the season premiere Bahrain and Saudi Arabia with single-seat versions roseAs a special tribute to its new sponsor, BWT, Alp mainly going back to decoration blue for this weekend Australian Grand Prix. superstitions aside, Fernando Alonso After its recent abandonment due to a breakdown, he hopes this new phase will be more suitable for him. Jeddah .
The Asturian driver later complained that the A522’s good performance in free practice and qualifying was not reflected in the results later in the race: “It’s unbelievable that we only have two points with these performances,” stressed the ninth-placed Asturian. in the boot test Sakhir.
Much like Racing Point, which BWT sponsored in 2021 before transforming into Aston Martin, the pink car wasn’t very successful among Alonso fans, who showed it off on social networks during the presentation of the new Alpine single-seaters for 2022: “Why have one decoration when you can have two?”, The team announced in February that it was launching two versions.
third engine
this weekend Albert Park, Alonso will unveil not only the blue car, but also a new power unit, following a water pump malfunction that caused him to retire 15 laps after the end of the Saudi Arabian GP. After the French team finished the Bahrain GP, it already discovered an initial problem with its engine and sent it to the Viry factory for analysis.
In Jeddah, Alonso’s pace with the A522 was very competitive and allowed him to enter Q3 alongside Sakhir. But the weekend’s expectations were shattered when the Spaniard’s car stalled in the middle of the race: “No power”, When Fernando realized that he could not continue, he slammed his helmet in anger and wept.
According to team principal Laurent Rossi, “We have identified the cause of the problem and hopefully it will be fixed for Melbourne. It is an issue that stems from the youth of the new engine’s elements. The advantage is that neither the structural nor the impulse itself, the architectural choices made in the design and concept should not be questioned. engine He does what is expected of him.”
in the same league
He explained, “The problem is in the water pump integrated into the engine. When it disintegrated, it fell to the bottom of the engine cooling circuit. If we wanted to repair it, we would have had to break the gasket. That’s why we did it. He lost his engine. Although its physical integrity is not directly affected, there is already an engine deficiency for us.” Rossi and Autohebdo.
This means that Alonso will have to fit his third power unit of the season in Australia, thus reaching the allowable limit for the entire 2022 season in just a short time. three races. From the fourth place there will be a penalty on the grid. And the World Cup has just begun!
Despite this, Fernando gives a message of optimism: “We are very pleased with the performance of our engine. We believe we are playing in the same league as the others this year. We were able to fight on the plains Let’s wait and see if this is confirmed, along with others in Jeddah and Bahrain. The Ferrari engine and also the Honda are still a bit ahead but Renault is there. Another reference team is missing, but the data is encouraging”, concludes Alonso, who is confident that the problems with the car will be fixed in Australia for sure.