(Motorsport-Total.com) – Pink is back in Formula 1! After Aston Martin only had a few last-minute touches last season, the stunning color resurfaced again in 2022 – but this time in the Alps on the cars of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
© Albin
The new Alpine has eye-catching pink BWT surfaces
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Because the French racing team recently announced a partnership with Austrian water company BWT, which had already dip entire cars pink at Force India and Racing Point. But it’s not quite the same with the new Alpine A522, which was presented to the public in the late afternoon of Monday as the penultimate car.
Instead, the pink color merges with the Alpine brand’s blue, creating a new color palette in Formula 1, which is also reflected in the new team’s name: “BWT Alpine F1 Team”.
In the first two races of the season, the team will also appear in an “inverted” uniform. With the increase in pink, one would like to honor the new sponsor with the title.
© Albin
In the first two races, the Alps wear almost all pink Zoom
What else is noteworthy in the car: the A522 has a push-pull suspension on the front axle and a traction suspension on the rear. The nose is higher relative to the front wing than some competitors, with very narrow intakes on the side legs, which feature cooling fins.
Race plan remains 100
One person very familiar with the new colour: new team manager Otmar Szafnauer was already involved with BWT at his former workplace at Silverstone and is the new strongman at Alpine. CEO Marcin Budkowski has left the racing team for this purpose, as has consultant Alain Prost.
Photo gallery: Formula 1 2022: the new Alpine A522 from Alonso and Ocon
The former Renault team continues to mess with its return to the top of Formula 1. It is in the second year of its 100-race schedule, of which Bahrain is the 23rd race of the programme. The Grand Prix was surprisingly won in 2021, but the French want to make it a regular event.
Alpine knows that Esteban Ocon’s victory in Hungary was due to circumstances and hardly allows any conclusions to be drawn about improving competitiveness – but of course they were happy to take it with them.
Russian wants fifth place
However, in 2022, one would like to take another step forward, even if General Manager Laurent Rossi already confirmed it last year, given the 100 race plan. Don’t panic if the start of the New Testament isn’t a success – advance notice?
“We have to be clear that it doesn’t matter where we start,” Rossi explains. “It depends on where we are at the end of the season. We have to keep improving and aim to be operationally flawless and keep improving.”
The 2022 goal is at least fifth place. “We have achieved our goals so far,” Rossi said. “We’re happy with the progress we’ve made, but we have to be realistic. This year, all the cards are being rearranged. We don’t know where we are until we’re really out on the right track,” he says.
Will Alonso take the big hit?
But he is optimistic: “We came to Formula 1 in 2021 with one goal: to lay the foundation for this season, with the big rule changes and all the opportunities this provides for a mid-size team like ours. We learned what works and what doesn’t, what has to be done. We have to do better and what we can keep.”
Photo gallery: 2022 Formula 1 cars in pictures
It is not yet clear if Fernando Alonso will be satisfied with the fifth place. The Spaniard returned to Formula 1 with the big goal of winning his third world title after 2005 and 2006. The year of his comeback should only be an adaptation for the big hit. In terms of driving, the 40-year-old has shown he can still do it – and now Alpine has to give him the right car.
His teammate, Esteban Ocon, remains the only one He has a long-term contract until 2024 and therefore should have a little more time than Alonso. However, he lost the team’s duel against the Spaniard in 2021 – despite his victory in Budapest.
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