Strolling into the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday morning, there was a real buzz amongst the entire followers who had been getting off the metro at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
I’m positive it was partly fueled by the very fact we had been going to go racing for the primary time in Montreal since 2019, however there was a typical theme amongst those that had been trying ahead to the race: Fernando Alonso.
A surprising efficiency in qualifying meant he was lining up on the entrance row for the primary time in a decade, and it had captured the creativeness of so many who had been hoping to see him a minimum of lead early on – as Alonso acknowledged was his goal. A few of the extra optimistic amongst them felt he may win the entire thing.
Sadly it wasn’t to be. Max Verstappen managed to nail his begin and gave Alonso no probability of threatening him on the opening lap, after which an influence unit subject value the Spaniard efficiency on the straights and left him slipping again via the sphere.
Seventh place on the flag turned ninth place after a penalty for weaving in entrance of Valtteri Bottas on the ultimate lap, and was scant return for a weekend that had promised a lot. So it might sound a bit unusual however the query now could be, what does Alpine do with Alonso?
The double world champion continues to be clearly performing, however the crew just isn’t on the stage he had come again to System 1 for. It’s not that Alpine has accomplished a nasty job – if something, it has made a step ahead to be threatening McLaren for fourth place within the constructors’ championship – but it surely isn’t within the combine for podiums and victories regardless of the reset that the brand new rules supplied.
And also you don’t want me to remind you that Oscar Piastri is ready within the wings after having been so unfortunate to not get a seat in F1 off the again of consecutive titles in System Renault 2.0, System 3 and System 2.
Current discuss has been in regards to the potential for Piastri to maneuver to Williams this yr rather than Nicholas Latifi, however that appears unlikely to occur. Latifi has a good contract that might value Williams vital cash to repay, and would hardly be essentially the most amicable solution to finish a relationship with a driver and his backers who helped the crew via such robust monetary instances in 2020.
And what would Williams actually achieve if it had been to ditch the Canadian? It might lose cash, and even when it changed him with a driver who confirmed higher efficiency, it’s not going to make a distinction to its constructors’ championship place.
Alex Albon has been driving properly however twelfth and thirteenth in every of the final two races is about nearly as good as Williams can hope for, and even when Piastri may hit the bottom operating he’s not going to supply common factors within the slowest automobile on the grid. Haas is now subsequent within the constructors’ championship, and with a 12-point deficit Williams appears resigned to tenth place.
There’s little upside to jamming Piastri right into a Williams this yr, however the place Alpine locations him in 2023 may present some hints about how the crew is approaching the following few seasons. Carl Bingham/Motorsport Photographs
So sticking with Latifi and seeing out the season doesn’t actually value the crew something, and it equally would imply Piastri isn’t confronted with a problem that might damage his status. Being thrown in mid-season in a tricky automobile in opposition to a formidable Albon would seemingly imply an preliminary hole between the 2 that may by no means shut given the Pink Bull backed driver’s head begin, and it wouldn’t inform Alpine all that a lot about its younger prospect.
But when we’re speaking about the place Williams is correct now, then we’ve got to do the identical for Alpine, too.
This isn’t a crew that’s on the verge of difficult for world championships. It’s nonetheless a good distance from the entrance, even when it has the elements to get nearer to the highest three and get itself into the combination finally. Persistence goes to be wanted, and it would make extra sense to take a leaf out of Ferrari’s ebook.
After 2020, with a tricky street forward to get again into the combination for race wins, Ferrari moved away from the skilled world champion it had in Sebastian Vettel and signed Carlos Sainz to accomplice Charles Leclerc, giving a driver line-up for the longer term.
Whereas I’m not suggesting Vettel and Alonso’s performances are comparable – the latter is delivering at a a lot greater stage than Vettel was at the moment – the dynamic and forward-thinking mentality could possibly be related when Alpine considers what it does for 2023.
A line-up of Ocon and Piastri subsequent season is likely to be extra becoming for a crew working its solution to the entrance, because it permits Ocon additional duty that he seems to be prepared for, and provides Piastri the required expertise throughout the crew and with its present automobile, somewhat than in an uncompetitive set-up elsewhere on the grid.
However to go for that pairing over an Alonso who continues to be driving so properly is an enormous name, and one that might seemingly want an early determination primarily based on his contractual scenario. The Spaniard is hardly going to attend round till November to study what the crew desires to do, and he may even have the facility in his current deal to drive its hand earlier on that entrance.
It’s precisely that dilemma that has led to Piastri’s hyperlinks to Williams getting stronger, and a few members of the Dorilton-owned crew count on to see the Australian in its colours subsequent yr. Alpine must know what its back-up choices are if it continues with Alonso, and as crew principal Otmar Szafnauer made clear in Canada, Piastri will probably be racing in F1 subsequent yr. He must be.
In a barely backwards approach, it could make Alpine’s life a bit simpler if Alonso really wasn’t performing so properly. As an alternative, the excellent drawback to have about whether or not to stay with a world class confirmed champion or one of many sport’s brightest younger prospects stays one which wants coping with.
