Alpine looking for a “smoother weekend” in Jeddah

Before the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was difficult to place the level of performance of the garageAlpine. And, after the first meeting of the season, the questions are still unanswered. Pierre Gasly started last for his first race in blue and pink, after seeing his time canceled in qualifying. In front, Esteban Ocon hoisted its A523 into Q3 before suffering a major poor performance on Sunday. In total: 3 rule violations, 20 second penalty and one retirement. His teammate began to climb back up the rankings, finally finishing 9th and having the point for the best lap taken by Guanyu-Zhou at the end of the test. “ I was pretty happy overall, especially coming up from last to ninth place to pick up a few points on Sunday, says the Norman. I know there is so much more to come from my side and from the team as we are not 100% yet. This is also why we also left Bahrain with some disappointment since everything did not go well “, he admits.

« It is important that we put all the pieces of the puzzle together to extract the maximum performance. I enjoyed my debut in the colors Alpine, the entire team is extremely talented and driven to succeed and I can't wait to see what we can achieve with a smoother, better executed weekend », summarizes Gasly, a few days before the second meeting of the season in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). “ Jeddah is a very unique tour in Formula 1, adds Ocon. It's a very fast, rhythmic urban track and most of the lap is at full throttle, which is very exciting. »

Especially since for this edition of the Saudi Arabian event, several changes have been made to the route aimed at improving safety and visibility when entering turns. Last year, Mick Schumacher suffered a violent accident in qualifying, preventing him from taking part in the race the next day. “ We'll definitely have some feedback to offer on these changes on Friday after testing to see how effective they are, observes the one who will make his 63rd start from the team powered by Renault, making him the French manufacturer's second most successful driver. In the race, overtaking is possible and the risks of intervention by the safety car are rather high given the nature of the track. We will have to be prepared for any eventuality. The whole team is ready and motivated to have a better weekend and definitely launch our season. » 

Alpine made “too many mistakes in Bahrain”

If the garageenstone claims to still be under control, Bahrain's many mistakes were avoidable: “ We left Bahrain with mixed feelings, assumes Otmar Szafnauer, director of the A fléché stable. On the one hand, we were satisfied to come away with points thanks to the comeback of Pierre, who started from the back of the grid before moving up to ninth place. His performance required good decisions, well-executed strategy and solid race pace, and we showed all of that. On the other hand, we made too many mistakes throughout the weekend and we can all do better »

The big black spot on the Bahraini picture remains the accumulation of penalties on Ocon's car. A bad position on the starting grid sees the French penalized by 5 seconds... which will be poorly observed by the engineers. Consequence: 10 seconds more, and an almost impossible ascent. Especially since exceeding the speed limits at the entrance to the pit lane adds another 5 seconds to this burden. “ Esteban's Sunday must remain an isolated incident, asserts the American. It was the culmination of a series of mistakes, so many [Esteban's part]  than operationally, and his side of the garage will undoubtedly bounce back in Saudi Arabia. Right now we know the A523 has potential. We haven't been able to make the most of everything yet and we have work to do to get there. It's a long season, we started with points and we have to keep pushing as a team. »

With the desire to consolidate its 4th place in the Manufacturers, Alpine will have to eliminate errors and seize opportunities so as not to lose ground against its competitors, in particular Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso very fit.

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