Alpine have set themselves the target of remaining as a top-five team when Formula 1's new era begins in 2022. Alpine maintained fifth in the standings during their first F1 season - the same position as Renault the previous year, prior to the team's rebranding - via a breakthrough victory for Esteban Ocon and a podium return for Fernando Alonso. Speaking at the launch of the new Alpine F1 car on Monday night, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi expressed satisfaction at his team's performance last season and hopes it can be built on going forward. "The goal [in 2021] was to set the foundations for this year with the new technical regulations, and we did just that," said Rossi. "We learned throughout the entire year; we learned what worked well and what didn't, what we needed to consolidate, what we needed to improve, reinforce – we even learned how to win again! "We put all of this together, we managed to score [points] in 20 races of 22, which is really remarkable, and we managed to retain fifth position, which was the objective, so [it was] mission accomplished."
Alpine set fifth as the minimum target
Alpine have made several personnel changes between seasons, most recently announcing Otmar Szafnauer as their new team boss and Bruno Famin as the head of their engine division. As the new faces settle in, Rossi stated that holding onto fifth is a must, with Alpine still looking to execute a 100-race project to return to the top of the sport. "We must keep on learning, we must keep on improving [our] performance," he said of the team's 2022 targets. "The journey back to the top, the 100-race journey, requires that we progress along the way, every step of the way. "At the very least, sporting-wise, that means that we need to aim for fifth. So far we have hit our development targets [at our factories], but we have to be realistic."
Rossi: "Where we finish the season is most important"
Rossi's words of caution come amid a regulation overhaul for 2022, with a 'ground effect' aerodynamic concept, bigger wheels and a host of other technical changes coming into play . "The new technical regulations will change the entire landscape, if you will," added Rossi. "It's exciting, it's a chance, it's an opportunity, but we [will] only know where we are when once we hit the track, all of us. In the meantime, we've put our best foot forward. What matters the most again is progress, progress, progress. "Irrespective of where we start the season, the most important is where we're going to be at the end. The progress we will have made, towards the top, towards the top of the podium – momentum is key."
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