"We wanted to do something like in the NFL" - Alpine boss sees weakness in F1's aero handicap rule

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer wants F1 to take a page out of the National Football League's (NFL) book with regards to the aerodynamics handicap rule introduced in 2021.

Szafnauer joined Alpine ahead of the 2022 season after more than a decade in F1 with the team that now races under the Aston Martin name.

Speaking about the situation and what could be done in an interview with Sky, the Romanian said:

"The thought was that we wanted to do something like in the NFL, where the worst team gets to pick a player first. And that's when I thought: maybe we could have a handicap system to help the teams at the back without having success weights. The three teams at the very front didn't like it, of course. The nice thing is that it's been controlled for quite a while because there was a limit. It's no different now. It's controlled the same way, with random checks from the FIA."

In addition to the cost cap of $140 million put in place by F1, teams also have time in the wind tunnels based on their performances in the previous season. This is inversely proportional to their finishing positions in that season.

To put it into context, Haas have double the amount of wind tunnel testing time in comparison to Mercedes, owing to their results in 2021.

F1 opted against using successive weights to penalize teams in order to keep fans of the sport happy.

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Alpine confirm their F1 drivers are permitted to race each other if they don't lose time while battling

Otmar Szafnauer has confirmed that Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon will be allowed to race each other provided they don't lose time to others in the process.

The two Alpine drivers were locked in a fierce battle at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during the 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP with a few close shaves. After the race, Szafnauer touched on the subject by saying:

“It’s a high-speed track here, the walls are close. But look, they did exactly what we talked about before the race. And it was good for everybody. As it turned out had Fernando [Alonso] not stopped on track, we would have been sixth and seventh. And we would have given the fans, and we did give the fans, a bit of a show. And I think that’s what it’s about. You’ve got to let them race. It was clean, it’s what the fans want to see. And we told them at the beginning we’ll allow them to race. I mean, the only reason I did this [head in hands] was we were losing a little bit more time than I anticipated.”

Alpine will head to the next race on the F1 calendar in P4 in the World Constructors' Standings. The 2022 Australian GP at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne is scheduled to be held on April 10.