Despite reliability issues, Alpine successfully defeated McLaren in the race for the 4th spot in the constructors’ standings. On certain occasions, they even gave big teams like Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes a run for their money. It was FIA’s budget cap introduction that was hailed for leveling the playing field and helping Alpine come up. However, team principal Otmar Szafnauer now feels the advantage has dissipated as rivals have successfully found a loophole in cost cap regulations.

As Red Bull put up a dominant display and ran away with both championships in 2022, a battle simmered in the mid-table. That battle was between McLaren and Alpine.

Alpine boss reveals the loophole rival teams are exploiting

The Woking-based team struggled throughout the season with pace and reliability issues. Moreover, their star driver Daniel Ricciardo failed to fire for a second season straight. The Enstone-based team took full advantage of the situation and gave a great fight.

“When everyone’s the right size, you lose that. You lose that a little bit,” Szafnauer said while speaking with select media, including GP Fans. “What some of the other bigger teams are now doing is they’re looking to exploit or have a better understanding of where there are loopholes or some organizational changes you can make to actually stuff more people under that budget cap.

“They’re looking at, ‘Yeah, I got rid of a hundred people, but now I want to hire back because under the budget cap I was able to find spots for them where they either don’t count as a whole person or they do some marketing stuff or whatever it is, or they work on a boat for some of the time’,” he added. “We’re not there yet. I think they’re there already, and that advantage of being right at the beginning does dissipate.”

Read More: “Do What You Couldn’t Do for Seb”: As Fernando Alonso Swears in to Aston Martin Green, Fans Give Worried Welcome

Alpine may have beaten McLaren on points, but it was a season that was far from perfect for them. As Fernando Alonso lost out on a considerable number of points owing to multiple DNFs, he took his team to task.

Otmar Szafnauer agrees with Fernando Alonso’s assessment

Alonso was left fuming at his team way too often as he DNF’d a whopping 6 times in 2022. Speaking after bowing out in Singapore, Alonso claimed he should have had 60 more points. Had it not been for the DNFs, his campaign would have been similar to that of Mercedes, he claimed.

Speaking with Formula1 after the conclusion of the season, Otmar Szafnauer said, “I don’t know how many exactly, but it is definitely a considerable number. Definitely in the double digits. We should have a more reliable power source next year.” 

Watch This Story: Oldest Formula 1 drivers on the 2022 Grid

Alonso has moved on to Aston Martin in hopes of reviving his championship-winning chances. Even though the Silverstone-based team could only manage a 7th finish in the constructor standings, the Spaniard has shown faith in their project.