Alpine new car launch: We ‘can be F1 title contenders,’ says CEO Laurent Rossi

Alpine can be future contenders for the Formula 1 title, according to chief executive Laurent Rossi.

And Rossi said they were moving in the right direction after one race victory last season.

“We are going in the right direction and we want to carry on our climb to the summit,” he said.

Alpine have finished fifth in the constructors’ standings for the last three years and last week announced the signing of former Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer as new team principal.

Rossi added: “In 2022 we want to show constant progress with comprehensive developments across all sites to ensure we are contenders for the title in the future.”

The team head into 2022 with an unchanged driver line-up of Spanish double world champion Fernando Alonso and Frenchman Esteban Ocon.

They returned to the top step of the podium last season, when Ocon won in Hungary to give the team their first victory as Alpine, and the first since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, when they were known as Lotus.

“That feeling and responsibility is truly unique and very special,” Ocon said. “I feel prepared, I feel ready physically, so let’s hit the track and see what we’ve got in our hands this year.”

The new F1 season starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 20 March. – bbc.com