"Is the sport going to be better off, or is it going to be worse off?" - Alpine questions F1's checks for newly entering teams

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi admitted that Porsche and Audi's entry into F1 could be a positive step for the sport as long as it does not put the existing power unit suppliers at a disadvantage. The Volkswagen group had recently announced the entry of its marquee brands into the sport.

Rossi told Motorsport that several significant details need to be analyzed and kept in mind with such a drastic move. Emphasizing that clarity is key to ensuring a positive influence on the sport, he said:

“I think it’s nice, I think is good for the sport. But we need to really pay attention to a couple of things, actually. We need to check and make sure that two separate teams are two separate teams. We need to make sure that if they’re entering the arena as teams, are they works teams, is it coming from Porsche, from Audi, is it coming from Red Bull or Honda? Do they have specific treatment or not? So basically, is the sport going to be better off, or is it going to be worse off?”

Speaking about the impact of possible new entrants in the future on Alpine as a team, Rossi said:

“Suddenly to favour new entrants, then incumbents suddenly get a bit of the wrong end of the stick. And I guess it’s the same concern for most teams here, but especially for us as a works team, because we’ve invested literally billions over the past 20 years, 40 years, for Renault in PUs. It’s not for someone to come in and just like get the lion’s share just because they roll out the red carpet. Because it’s basically disrupting our business model, and putting a lot of jobs at risk.”

Porsche and Audi are set to be part of the next generation of F1 with new power units and regulations that are to be introduced in 2026. This would mean that Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, and Red Bull will no longer be the only PU manufacturers on the grid.

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Alpine set to bring in first set of major upgrades at the 2022 Imola GP

Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that the team is set to bring in an aero upgrade to the car ahead of the Imola GP this weekend. The Emilia Romagna GP is the first European race of the season and the fourth overall this season.

As reported by Motorsport, Szafnauer claimed that several teams are expected to do the same ahead of the upcoming race:

“We’re going to bring some upgrades to Imola, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone brings upgrade to Imola, it seems in my 25 years of doing this, for whatever reason, the first European races are where everyone plans their upgrade. It used to be Barcelona, now it’s Imola. But it’s the fourth race as well. So around the fourth/fifth race, everyone brings upgrades, so we too will be bringing some. It’s all aero.”

The team currently stands fifth in the constructors' standings with a total of 22 points.

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