"We’ll be back where we should be"- Alpine looking forward to bringing major "downforce" update at 2022 F1 Singapore GP

Alpine Sporting Director Alan Permane believes the Italian GP was a foreshadowing of the progress in performance that they will make in time for the Singapore GP. The Briton revealed they will be taking a massive step forward at the Marina Bay circuit where they will be introducing a new floor on the car.

Speaking to on-site media, including Sportskeeda, after the Italian GP, Permane commented on their pace in Monza, saying:

“For sure, 100% it’s an outlier.”

Looking forward to the Singapore GP weekend, Permane said:

“We’ve got a new floor coming for Singapore, which has got a massive step of downforce. We’ll be back where we should be, and we’re really looking forward to there and especially Suzuka with this car. It’s going to be fun.”

According to the Alpine Sporting Director, they will be introducing a new floor for the Singapore race which should enhance their performance to a large extent. He also expects the team to be at a competitive level with the new update.

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Alpine are clueless about their struggles in the Italian GP

Permane suggested that both their drivers struggled for pace in both qualifying and the race in Monza due to drivability issues. He also revealed that the team did not expect to be struggling at the Italian GP, but could have suffered due to the car being excessively draggy.

Explaining the pace deficit at the Monza GP, Permane said:

“We didn’t expect to struggle. I thought we would be okay. We ran absolutely fine on Friday and that’s the tricky thing, that’s what we don’t understand. Long run with no DRS, so really using your full drag, we looked alright. Quicker than McLaren and quicker than all the people that we were racing."

He further added, saying:

"Certainly we were not as quick as the top three cars, but it didn’t look like there were any major dramas. We were definitely a bit high on the draggy side, but we figured that was the quickest way around here and that's where we raced. But I think we genuinely struggled for pace a little bit. We struggled in qualifying. Both drivers said they made mistakes, which is uncharacteristic, so clearly the car was difficult to drive.”

Baffled by the struggles during the race, the Alpine engineer said:

“In the race, we didn’t have the pace, and we didn’t have the pace that we had on Friday afternoon. On Friday afternoon, Fernando ran the medium tyre, and thought it was fantastic. He was quick, I think he was lapping mid-26s with full tanks, and we couldn’t get anywhere near that on Sunday. So we’ve got some work to do to try and understand what was going on.”

Fernando Alonso eventually retired from the race on lap 31 with a suspected water pressure issue, while Esteban Ocon finished in 11th place. The Alpine team are currently fourth in the championship with a total of 125 points and are closely trailed by rivals McLaren, who have a total of 107 points.