At Alpine, we do not take offense at the repeated tackles of Lando Norris

En Formula 1, all means are good to try to destabilize the opponent. It's fair game. Since the start of the season, in addition to fighting Red Bull-Ferrari at the forefront, there is a fierce fight between McLaren et Alpine for 4th place. If the French team currently dominates that of Woking with 13 points in advance, and that it has been in front for a large part of the year, McLaren had benefited from the zero points of Fernando Alonso andEsteban Ocon in Monza and Singapore to temporarily regain the precious 4th place. 

So when the A arrow, with a 4th and a 7th place, got back in front of McLaren in Japan, Lando Norris reacted by addressing a well-felt attack on his French competitors. If the remarks initially seemed laudatory, they quickly turned into a dig. “They are so much faster than us, he argued. I don't know how we can still fight against them in the championship. They're on another planet than us right now. I'm happy that we are able to compete with them this far into the season, it shows that we have done a very good job in other areas, like reliability and maximizing our performance, taking advantage of opportunities and by not making mistakes. »

“They must have done much worse than us in all these areas”

Always very honest in his way of expressing himself, Norris continued his diatribe. “They must have done a lot worse than us in all those areas to be barely ahead of us in the championship with the car they have. It's no surprise, it's not a great duel at the moment because they are much faster, but we will continue to try to limit the loss of points for them. » One way, obviously, to put pressure on Alpine with four rounds remaining. 

Lando Norris remains optimistic for the end of the season. © DPPI

On the side of home Alpine, obviously, the remarks did not go unnoticed. Especially since this isn't the first time. “Lando loves saying that, doesn’t he?”, laughed Alan Permane, the sporting director ofAlpine, before taking a more serious tone. “We just need to be in front. I'm not sure why he continues: I actually think we've destabilized him. We are much more focused on Mercedes and now we are trying to beat Mercedes. We strive to get to that level. » In other words, despite the fragile gap with McLaren, Alpine look ahead… not behind!

In absolute terms, Lando Norris is not fundamentally wrong in his comments. In terms of pure performance, it seems that there is no match between the two teams, and that the repeated reliability concerns ofAlpine since the start of the year have cost him a big handful of points, which Fernando Alonso quantifies at 50 or 60, and only on his side of the garage. In terms of retirements this season, there have been twice as many in the French ranks as among the papaya oranges (6 against 3), without counting other missed opportunities, such as for example the good performance of Fernando Alonso in qualifying. in Melbourne, betrayed by his mechanics even though the lap he was on would undoubtedly have allowed him to secure a top 5 on the grid.

Lando Norris could see himself getting back in front Alpine and Alonso. © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

Mechanical concerns, particularly engine issues, are fully assumed by Alpine. As a reminder, while the PUs were frozen this year until 2026, Viruses-Châtillon has strived harder to deliver a power unit that is more efficient than reliable, knowing that the only legal possibilities for retouching the engine between now and 2026 concern precisely interventions to make it more reliable. “Of course we had a huge setback in Singapore, commented Permane again. But I think in Japan everything is back to normal.” 

“I imagine in the next races we can do the same thing. The car is clearly getting faster and faster. And I think she's close to the best. After every race we look at where we are in terms of percentage from pole and stuff like that, and I'm sure we're closer than we've ever been this season. So this is clearly going in the right direction. »

The key to the end of the season will obviously be reliability. If Alpine doesn't have any problems, it's hard to imagine McLaren coming back into the match. Failing that… the two McLaren drivers will be there to pocket big points. And Lando Norris will not fail to rebuke once again Alpine in front of the press, ensuring that despite McLaren's weaker package, the team had worked better. The outcome is planned for Abu Dhabi on November 20. 

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