Alfa Romeo failed to capitalise on 'huge performance step' in F1 2021 - Vasseur

Frédéric Vasseur believes Alfa Romeo didn’t capitalise on its ‘huge performance step’ over the winter into consistent top 10 finishes in the 2021 Formula 1 season.
Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) Alfa Romeo Racing C41.
Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA) Alfa Romeo Racing C41.
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Alfa Romeo was beaten to eighth in the constructors’ championship by Williams in 2021, scoriꦬng just 13 poin🐻ts in 22 races.

The Swiss-based outfit was the most improved team in terms of outright pure performance fr🧔om 2020 to 2021 but struggled to convert it into regular points finishes with a combination of poor team strategy, bad luck and driver errors to blame.

Reflecting on t𒀰he season, Vasseur conceded that he had a “strange feeling” when assౠessing his team’s progress in 2021.

“I have a very strange feeling because I think in terms of pure performance, we did pretty well,” he said. “We had a huge step compared to l🔥ast year, probably the best in terms of pure performance compared to pole position.

“But on♏ the other hand we missed the good opportunities of the year, in Budapest we were involved in a crash, in Spa we had some missed opportunities on our side, in Bahrain we had an issue during the pit stop, or in Imola Kimi spun on the formation lap. 

“It cost us two points here, four points there. It’s a strange feel𝔉ing because in the end, the only thing making sense is the points. It doesn’t matter to be faster if you are not scoring points. It’s a bit of the frustration of the team, we had a step forward in terms of performance but we didn’t score the points.”

The Frenchman had a frank assessment of the season for Alfa R﷽omཧeo: “good on performance and bad on results”.

“During the season, it was really up and down,” he explained. “We had a good start until Monaco or something like this, then we had a tough period in the summer. Then it came back in the last part of the year. But it’s very difficult to analyse, because if you look at the classification, it’s clear, but if you look at pure performance, it’s a matter of ♏one-tenth completely changing the picture. 

💜“When you are trying to have a look on the season, we have to be careful oꩵn this. But overall if I have to rate the season, I would say good on performance and bad on results.”

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