"Species that are selfish perish" - Alpine boss takes a dig at Oscar Piastri-McLaren fiasco

After all the controversies surrounding Oscar Piastri and his F1 debut, Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer took a dig at the young Australian. He emphasized that "selfish" people are unlikely to survive in F1. After Alpine announced that Piastri would be replacing Fernando Alonso in the team next season, he denied the same and later announced that he would be joining McLaren in 2023.

As reported by RacingNews365.com, Szafnauer said:

"I think species that collaborate survive. Species that are selfish perish. That's true in history, and I think that might apply to Formula 1 too, but let's see what the future brings."

He also confirmed that the team will remain committed to the young driver program as well as the Alpine Academy despite all the drama that went down with Piastri. He said:

"We definitely continue to be committed to the young driver programme and to the Alpine Academy."

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Alpine lacked "a little bit everywhere" to Red Bull in 2022, says Fernando Alonso

Alpine have taken quite a step up over the last few seasons within the midfield. However, Fernando Alonso believes that in almost every aspect, the French outfit is still unable to match Red Bull.

No midfield team managed to secure a race win in 2022. McLaren's Lando Norris was the only driver from a team outside the top three to have taken a podium finish this year.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport about where the team lacked compared to Red Bull this season, the Spaniard said:

“A little bit everywhere. The second is made up of the sum of many small advantages. More downforce, less drag, more power, better tyre management, pit stops, the execution of race procedures. They are faster on the straights and in the corners, which is very difficult to achieve in this combination.”

The two-time world champion has now replaced Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. The English team finished seventh in the constructors' championship this season, as compared to their French rivals' impressive fourth-place result. However, Alonso remains confident that the team will manage to catch up with the frontrunners in the near future. He said:

“You can’t make up for that in a year. But I’m hopeful that one or two teams will be ready in two or three years.”

Fernando Alonso finished the 2022 F1 season ninth in the drivers' championship.