“It is a welcome break”: Alpine team principal welcomes lengthy break to build more spare parts ahead of F1 race in Baku

Alpine's Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided on the last restart of the Australian Grand Prix, forcing both cars to retire with serious damage.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer stated that the four-week hiatus before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be used to stock up on replacement components.

The collision puts a larger burden on the team's spare parts supply, but Szafnauer has stated that a "huge effort" is currently underway to stockpile spares ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of the month.

Szafnauer said during the team principal conference during the Australian Grand Prix:

“The break wasn’t planned but it is a welcome break from both getting ample car parts, spares as well as when we do bring developments."

Szafnauer emphasized the need to have a strong supply of spares for the following race in Baku, which holds the season's first Sprint event.

He said:

“There is more jeopardy because it’s a street race and some of the walls are pretty close."

McLaren, Alpine's main rival, have had a rough start to the season, but they are also bringing changes for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Szafnauer, on the other hand, is certain that the French team will be able to keep their lead and keep McLaren at bay in the championship.

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Following the mayhem of the Australian Grand Prix, Alpine's team principal is considering applying NASCAR rules in F1

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has responded to requests for F1 to implement an extra-time rule if the Australian Grand Prix is replicated. The extra-time rule is now applied in NASCAR and Formula E, stating that if a red flag forces the race to conclude early, a one-lap shootout will take place.

After seeing both of his Alpine cars crash out on the restart of the Australian Grand Prix, Otmar Szafnauer has shared his opinions on how the regulations should be applied. He said:

"My true belief is that we can have these scenarios, (But) you've got to set the rules at the beginning and then stick to it. Now if we want to look at them after that's fine to let the sporting directors look at it."

Changes to the red flag regulations have been proposed in the aftermath of Sunday (April 2)'s restart mayhem on the lap-57 restart, which saw seven different drivers involved in major collisions.

This triggered criticism of the FIA's management of the race, which was further reinforced later on Sunday when an astonishing Indy car was stopped under safety car conditions by the IndyCar stewards.