Alpine acknowledges advantage over McLaren: 'We have a faster car'

As the 2022 Formula 1 season draws to a close, Alpine sees itself as the favourite for fourth place in the constructors' championship. Sporting director Alan Permane is convinced that the A522 is now definitively a "faster car" than the McLaren MCL36.

Alpine and McLaren have been engaged in an exciting battle for fourth place throughout the season. The teams swapped places a few times due to changes in performance from track to track and as a result of updates on both sides. However, it was becoming increasingly clear that Alpine had the upper hand in the fight, although Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon struggled with occasional reliability issues.

Permane also realises that things are looking good for his team in the final stages of the season. Alpine has an 11-point lead over McLaren and although Permane expects it to come down to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he believes his team has the advantage. "We need to be 44 points in front of them before we get to Abu Dhabi, so I’m sure it will go down to the wire," he said in a conversation with Formula1.com.

Permane hopes Alpine can score as many points as possible in the next two races, to start the final weekend of the season as stress-free as possible. "I’d like to think… well, we have got the upper hand. We’ve got a quicker car and we’re ahead in the points, so we’re going to do it," he ends resolutely.