Alpine must still work on its A522 in Spain

The first day of free practice in Barcelona went well for Alpine with Fernando Alonso in the top 6 and Esteban Ocon at the edge of the top 10. To be competitive on Sunday, the brand with the A arrow must still work on the long stints of its A522.

Published on 21/05/2022 à 11:13

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Alpine still has to work on its A522 in Spain

In Barcelona, Fernando Alonso achieved the 5th and 6th best times in the free practice sessions. © Photo DPPI

Back on his land, Fernando Alonso shines in Barcelona. For the first two practice sessions of the Spanish Grand Prix, the driver Alpine finished in 5th and 6th positions less than a second behind Charles Leclerc, most man of the day on Friday. Despite these good results, there is no question of catching fire in the Catalan heat for Fernando Alonso. The A522 appears to be in the mix for a good qualifying performance but there is still work to be done for the engineers and mechanics.

The lap of the Catalunya circuit in the helmet of Fernando Alonso 🎥#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1

▶ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/oSZAsHR2f4

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) May 20, 2022

« It was a reasonable day for us today, tempers the Spaniard. After the winter testing in February, we had some testing to do because the car has changed so much between then and now. We have collected some useful data, but it is clear that we still need to improve the car for Saturday. » The Formula 1 veteran complained about the balance of his car after this first day of testing.

Improving long relays on the A522

As usual this year, the A522 performed well on Saturday in qualifying before experiencing more difficulties the next day on the long stints. So in Barcelona, Alpine wants to correct this trait. “ We are reasonably competitive on single lap pace, as we have been recently, but we have focused on experimenting to improve our pace on the long runs and we have a lot of data to work with. This is a key area for us at the moment and we are trying different things to further improve our pace on this front », underlines Pat Fry, the technical manager at the brand with the A arrow.

After the third free practice session at 13:00 p.m. this Saturday, Alpine will be able to set goals in qualifications. Q3 seems achievable for the two drivers of the French team. “ The car has definitely moved in the right direction, and I can feel a significant difference. Today we seem to be contenders for the top 10, which is always positive on a Friday ", precise Esteban Ocon. In front of their home crowd, the Frenchman and the Spaniard will be keen to shine in qualifying at 16:00 p.m. this Saturday.

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