Alpine will rely on tire strategy to finish in the points

The sprint race left a mixed feeling on the home side Alpine. Only 19th on the grid, Esteban Ocon was unable to climb higher than 16th place at the finish. “It was therefore difficult for me to move up further, but I am sure that we can do better during the race, judges the Frenchman. Our goal will clearly be to score points. We learned a lot today about tire behavior, which will help us develop our strategy. Rain could also be on the cards, and we know that in these conditions, anything can happen in Formula 1."

Fifth after qualifying, Fernando Alonso for his part failed to resist his opponents, particularly in the face of the speed of Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz, and finished the first sprint of the season outside the points, in ninth place. “We were aware that it would be difficult to keep Pérez and Sainz behind with the pace they have, but we thought seventh place was a realistic goal, believes the Spaniard. LGraining on the tires made it difficult for us. It was a bit like Q4, and we will try to recover for the race. We will review our choice of tires while monitoring what the weather is likely to have in store for us, as there is a chance of rain. So there is clearly something better to look for. »

Tire degradation indeed played an important role this Saturday. Charles Leclerc, leader since the first turn of the sprint race, saw the wear of his tires cost him first place in the final laps, which benefited Max Verstappen. If the rain doesn't turn everything upside down, a good tire strategy could offer big points on this Imola track. 

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