Alpine has denied Fernando Alonso will be tough to manage, claiming his “demanding” nature is what the team needs.
The Spaniard returns to Formula 1 seemingly more mellow than before after two years competing in different environments in WEC, IndyCar and the Dakar Rally.
Even so, his reputation as a disruptive force within teams also remains firmly in people’s minds, but racing director Davide Brivio doesn’t believe Alonso will have a similar effect at Alpine.
“No, I don’t think so. We had some first chats and he felt like a very normal guy, just extremely motivated, extremely willing to find and to put together everything necessary to get the best out of the car, the best out of the team,” he was quoted by Crash.net.
“He’s not coming back just to drive a car, he’s coming back to try to get some good results and to get some satisfaction.
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“Yeah, he’s quite demanding, but that’s what I like. We need this type of driver that’s really keen to put everything together to try to [get] the maximum.
“So I welcome this kind of attitude and this kind of approach, and of course we will have to work together as best as possible in order to use his abilities and his potential.”
At 39, Alonso is heading into the twilight of his top-level racing career, but Alpine is confident he’ll still be at his brilliant best.
“We have a guy which is a great champion and also I can feel he is extremely motivated,” Brivio continued.
“He’s coming back into a difficult sport, a difficult environment while he was enjoying different activities, so his desire to be back in the most difficult championship and to fight against everyone shows how strongly motivated he is.
“I can feel [this] chatting with him, you can see how hard he is working, how strong is his desire to be back. So I’m sure he will put in all his effort.
“If we were to be capable to give him a good package, for sure he will be able to fight for the great positions, yes.”
Alpine though is vowing Alonso will not be their main priority and equal status will be given to teammate Esteban Ocon.
“That doesn’t exist,” CEO Laurent Rossi said on having No.1 and No.2 drivers. “I don’t think it exists in many teams to be honest, at least not in ours.
“The drivers have to be as fast as possible and will clearly challenge each other.
“That’s like healthy competition and that’s about it. There’s no instruction and no number one driver.”