Szafnauer: Alpine was right to prioritise performance over reliability

Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer has explained the team’s decision to neglect reliability to focus on better engine performance.

Compared to many other teams, Alpine’s drivers have suffered far more at the hands of poor reliability in 2022.

Recently, attention turned to Fernando Alonso’s disappointing run of results as several of his races were compromised by engine or mechanical failures.

Despite the inconsistency of the A522, the team principal is confident in Alpine’s current strategies.

Alpine’s season so far

With two races remaining, the Renault-powered outfit is fourth in the constructors’ standings. They look to be the best of the rest but are embroiled in a tight battle with McLaren.

Following Alonso’s unfortunate DNF in Mexico, Alpine are just seven points ahead and has lost valuable points as a result of poor reliability.

In what initially looked like a promising race, he was set to finish P7 before suffering a detrimental cylinder issue.

Shockingly, the two-time world champion recently suggested that he could be around 50 points richer if reliability was not such a constant problem.

His teammate, Esteban Ocon, signed a contract extension last season that will keep him at Alpine until the end of 2024. He is currently eighth in the standings with 82 points, only nine ahead of Alonso.

The Spaniard has been far more critical of their 2022 car, referring to Alpine’s reliability as “really unacceptable”.

Despite the barrage of criticism, Szafnauer defended the team’s choice to somewhat neglect reliability.

“We mustn’t forget that at the beginning of the year we set out – and this was before I was here, but I think it was the right decision on the powertrain side – to err on the side of performance,” he told Motorsport.com.

“The powertrain was going to be frozen,” Szafnauer continued. “So we made a conscious decision to push the performance envelope and fix reliability issues as we got to them because the FIA allows that. So that was a conscious and strategic decision.”

Was it worth the risk?

Whether this strategic decision was worth it this season largely depends on where Alpine finish in the fight with McLaren.

If they suffer any additional engine issues, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo could easily take advantage.

Addressing the reliability concerns, Szafnauer made it clear that the long-term plan is his priority. He explained:

“We didn’t do it on purpose to not be reliable. But if you have to err on that side, you push the performance boundary, because you can’t add performance now until 2026, you can fix reliability issues. And we can do it over the winter. So strategically, I think it was the right thing to do. And we still have two races left to finish in fourth. I think we can do that.”

The current regulations will be overhauled once again in 2026, meaning that teams’ powertrains are frozen until then.

Alpine’s tactics may produce results in the long run, but 2022 has undoubtedly been a teething year for them.

Ex-Red Bull racer Pierre Gasly is set to partner with Ocon next season. The all-French lineup could rejuvenate the team and prove that Alpine’s gamble was the right choice.

That remains to be seen, but Szafnauer might do well to remember that in order to finish first, first you have to finish.

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