Was Horner right years ago? "Maybe Fernando's seen that as well?"
General
- GPblog.com
It is still unclear whether Fernando Alonso' s departure to Aston Martin was a choice of Alpine or of himself. Ted Kravitz suspects that it was Alonso himself who decided not to leave his contract with Alpine. He points to a possible lack of ambition as the reason.
For years now, France has been boasting that it wants to be back in contention for the world title in x-number of years. Cyril Abiteboul called it many seasons ago and the deadline was always postponed by one year. In 2022, there was a serious chance for Alpine to step up and join the battle with the absolute stop, but now the current season appears to be a 'gap year'. Next season the team should be able to compete.
Alpine investments
However, they will not do so with Alonso in their ranks. The 41-year-old driver had an expiring contract and there will be no new deal. Kravitz at Sky Sports: "But what does this say about Alpine? Christian Horner, in one of his sometimes not so edifying quips about Renault during Red Bull's engine deal, would say that Renault F1 are a team that wants first class, but are only prepared to pay economy. Maybe Fernando's seen that as well?"
At Aston Martin, the possibilities seem endless, as Lawrence Stroll is prepared to throw a lot of money at it. Of course, there is a budget ceiling - as there is for all F1 stables - but some promising employees from other teams have been taken on in the hope of being on the same level as Red Bull and Ferrari in the near future.
"Maybe he's seen that there isn't a level of investment that he's seen at Aston Martin, and Alpine are ready to just tick on by, aim for fourth in the constructors'? Does it serve Renault's wishes just to keep the Alpine name there and compete at a certain level? "I wonder if Fernando saw a lack of ambition that he hadn't seen during his time as a Renault factory driver. That's why he chose to look elsewhere."
Is Piastri simply lucky
Kravitz thinks it was really purely Alonso's choice to take on another challenge. He sees no signs that Alpine were planning to go with Oscar Piastri at the start of the 2023 season. The British journalist adds that everyone at Alpine loves Alonso and this season he has shown once again that he is capable of great things.