"When you play the team game, everybody wins" - Alpine boss lauds 2022 F1 Brazilian GP performance after Sprint 'silliness'

During an intense Sprint race at the 2022 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix, both Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso made a risky contact with each other on lap one. Though both drivers finished the race without crashing, the incident was talked about long after the Sprint race got over.

After the main race, Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer spoke about the Sprint race incident between the two drivers. He explained that the team worked together after an intense battle in the Sprint race and performed well in the main race on Sunday.

Otmar Szafnauer said:

"It just shows, I guess, the unpredictability of F1. But I think what it shows most importantly is that when you play the team game, everybody wins. The drivers, when they score points, they get their points bonus, and the team wins."

Alpine are having a tough season at the moment as they try to secure a good position in the drivers and constructors table. Hence, Alpine's team principal had serious talks with both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon regarding the incident.

He made both his drivers realize how hard the entire team is working to secure a good position and how they need to work together as well. Otmar Szafnauer said:

"Yeah, you have to point out to them that it's unacceptable to come together when you've got over 1000 people between Enstone and Viry working tirelessly to make sure we finish fourth in the championship."

He further added:

"And to have that silliness on track where you just run into each other, push your teammate wide, not let them by, especially when it's so close in the championship - I think the message got through, and we did a good job today."

Alpine pulled themselves from the Sprint race fiasco and finished P5 (Fernando Alonso) and P8 (Esteban Ocon) in the main race. They currently hold fourth position in the World Constructors' Championship standings.

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Moving on from Brazil, Fernando Alonso wants to end the season with Alpine on a high

Fernando Alonso expressed how he wanted to move on from the incident with Esteban Ocon and focus on the last race at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.

He mentioned the collision with his teammate and how both of them drove hard for the team to finish with a good amount of points. Alonso is now looking forward to his last race with Alpine and will focus entirely on the race.

He said:

"I made a mistake when Esteban and I made contact, so we wanted to do our best and race hard for the team. We needed these points heading to Abu Dhabi (in the fight for fourth in the Constructors). There is one more race with the team to go, and my heart is in the racing."

Fernando Alonso will be leaving the French team at the end of the 2022 F1 season and moving to Aston Martin. Pierre Gasly will take Alonso's place alongside Esteban Ocon for next season.