Alonso: Alpine has lost too much ground to McLaren
Alpine Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso has conceded that his team has lost too much ground to McLaren in 2021, but says the fact that the Enstone team reduced the gap to F1's frontrunners is encouraging.
Alpine, then called Renault, and McLaren were embroiled in a tense three-way fight for third in the 2020 constructors' championship, a battle which also included Racing Point, now Aston Martin.
While McLaren continued its upward trajectory in 2021 and now has to contend with a resurgent Ferrari for third place, Alpine and Aston Martin have both stagnated.
After Esteban Ocon's shock win in Hungary, Alpine has jumped from seventh to fifth in the standings, leapfrogging both Aston Martin and AlphaTauri.
Ocon's triumph was the Enstone outfit's first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, where it ran as Lotus Renault, but in 2021 it has generally lacked some speed and consistency compared to last year.
Alonso explained that Alpine had calculated that Ferrari would come back strong after a wobbly 2020 but conceded that his team is further away from McLaren than hoped.
"I think the expectations or our ambitions at the beginning of the year was to repeat what Renault was able to do last year," he told selected media, including Motorsport.com.
"Having in mind that Ferrari had a very strange 2020 season with quite low performance, we were expecting that maybe Ferrari was ahead of us. But it's true as well that we lost a little bit too much ground with McLaren.
"That Renault was fighting with McLaren until the last race last year and we are not able to do that this year."
A silver lining for Alpine is that it has narrowed the gap to frontrunners Mercedes and Red Bull, and that 2022's new regulations will provide an opportunity to make a big step forward at a time when Alpine will introduce its first brand new power unit since 2019.
"Looking and analysing all the numbers in a way, we reduced the gap with Mercedes and with some of the opposition," Alonso added.
"So even if we are P7 in the constructors' championship, we reduced the gap with the leaders and that's how tight everything became. From ninth to the top, everyone is closer.
"The same with Aston Martin, Racing Point last year was fighting for podiums and even won one grand prix and this year we are closer to them.
"So yeah, it was a bit up and down for all the teams, for us as well, but unfortunately we lost a couple of positions in the constructors' championship because the three teams that finished behind Renault last year are the three teams that have improved most."
Related video
Previous article
How Aston Martin plans to bounce back from Hungary setback
Next article
Spa-Francorchamps CEO Maillet killed in murder-suicide
How Verstappen has become F1 champion material
As Red Bull and Honda go all-out for victory in the Japanese engine manufacturer’s last season of its latest Formula 1 dalliance, Max Verstappen finds himself thrust into a compelling title fight with Lewis Hamilton. He told OLEG KARPOV about his evolution into a world championship contender and why Red Bull's no compromise ethos suits him down to the ground
Why long-run times should please Red Bull in Austin F1 battle
Mercedes has been on a roll of late in the ultra-tight fight to win the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It started off well in practice at Austin for this weekend’s US Grand Prix, but Red Bull got closer as Friday unfolded and even seemed to find an edge in one critical area of what seems set to be set to be another close contest.
The six critical factors that could hand F1 2021 glory to Hamilton or Verstappen
The 2021 Formula 1 title battle is finely poised with six races remaining, as just six points separate championship leader Max Verstappen from seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. In such a closely-fought season, the outcome could hinge on several small factors playing the way of Red Bull or Mercedes
Can Whitmarsh appointment help Aston succeed where its F1 rivals failed?
Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll is determined to make the group a billion-dollar business. MARK GALLAGHER analyses his latest play – bringing former McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh into the fold
Remembering Switzerland’s first F1 winner
Stepping up to F1 in 1962, Jo Siffert shone with Rob Walker Racing Team and BRM before his career was abruptly ended in a fatal crash at Brands Hatch in 1971. Kevin Turner looks back at the life of Switzerland's first F1 winner on the 50th anniversary of his death
What Verstappen is risking with his current stance on 2021 F1 world title defeat
OPINION: Max Verstappen is back in the lead of the 2021 Formula 1 drivers’ championship, with the season’s final flyaway events set to get underway in the USA this weekend. But a defensive stance he’s recently adopted could have a lasting impact for the Red Bull driver when it comes to his chances of defeating Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes
The hidden Ferrari struggle that Sainz’s recent charge put to rest
Despite appearing to adjust to life as a Ferrari driver with relative ease, it was far from straightforward under the surface for Carlos Sainz. But, having made breakthroughs in rather different routes at the Russian and Turkish races, he’s now targeting even greater feats for the rest of the Formula 1 season
The final throes of Brazil's fleetingly successful F1 team
Emerson Fittipaldi is better remembered for his Formula 1 world championships and Indianapolis 500 successes than for the spell running his eponymous F1 team. Despite a hugely talented roll call of staff, it was a period of internal strife, limited funding and few results - as remembered by Tim Wright.
