At the season’s start in Bahrain and then in Jeddah, the Alpine team rolled out two distinct single‑seat liveries as a nod to their new sponsor, BWT. The blue and pink schemes signaled a fresh chapter for the French squad, with Fernando Alonso seeking to turn a rough run into a stronger weekend for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Yet despite the optimism, there were superstitions and memories of recent setbacks as the Spaniard looked to settle into a more reliable phase with the renascent A522 platform.
The Asturian driver later lamented that his car’s solid performance in free practice and in qualifying did not translate into the desired race results. In his view, it was astonishing to have secured only a pair of points after such pace, a frustration he voiced after finishing ninth in the session at Sakhir. The gap between potential and points remained a talking point as the season wore on.
Much like Racing Point before its rebranding to Aston Martin, the pink livery drew mixed reactions from Alonso fans, who shared images from Alpine’s 2022 presentation on social media. The team had announced early in the year that two distinct chassis‑color schemes would be available, embracing a bold visual strategy even as the on‑track performance proved demanding for the squad to harmonize with the new design ethos.
third engine
In Australia, Alonso was set to unveil not only a refreshed blue livery but also a redesigned power unit, following a water pump issue that forced his retirement from the Saudi Arabian round with 15 laps remaining. After Bahrain, the French outfit had already flagged an early engine problem and dispatched the unit to Viry for in‑depth analysis.
In Jeddah, Alonso’s pace with the A522 was competitive enough to push into Q3, matching expectations seen in Sakhir. However, the weekend took a sour turn when the car stalled during the race, effectively delivering a final blow to the performance narrative. “No power,” he said, before raising his helmet in a moment of frustration and shedding tears when it became clear a comeback was not possible.
Team principal Laurent Rossi commented that the root cause had been identified and that steps would be taken to fix it ahead of Melbourne. He emphasized that the issue stemmed from the new engine’s younger components, while noting that the fundamental architecture, mechanics, and overall concept should withstand scrutiny. The engine, he said, performed within expectations for the most part, underscoring an engineering challenge rather than a fundamental flaw in the design.
in the same league
Rossi explained that the problem resided in the water pump built into the engine. When it failed, fragments contaminated the cooling loop, and repairing it would have required breaking a gasket. As a result, the team opted to abandon the unit, a decision that left Alonso with a third power unit in a single season, and it arrived far sooner than planned. The penalties on the starting grid would be inevitable as the season progressed, marking a rough, early indication that reliability would be as important as outright pace in 2022 for Alpine.
Despite the setbacks, Alonso remained pragmatic and hopeful. He praised the engine’s performance overall and believed the squad could compete at the level of its rivals. He pointed to fights on the straights and in the mid‑pack as evidence that the team could punch above its weight when everything clicked. The Spaniard also acknowledged that Ferrari, Honda, and Renault were key reference points in the broader field, while optimism about continued improvements underlined the team’s mindset as the season unfolded. His message was clear: the technical problems would be addressed, and the next rounds could deliver stronger results as the package matured.