After an insipid performance in Mexico, Alpine wants to bounce back in Brazil

Absent from the debates during the Mexican Grand Prix with only one point obtained, Alpine hopes to return to the match at Interlagos on a circuit which has been rather successful for the French clan in 2022.

Published on 01/11/2023 à 14:06

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After an insipid performance in Mexico, Alpine wants to bounce back in Brazil

The Alpine must bounce back at Interlagos © Florent Gooden / DPPI

The ups and down seasonAlpine continues. After a good result in Austin, with ten points scored, the French team fell back into trouble last weekend in Mexico. No car in Q3 and only one unit entered by Esteban Ocon : a meager record when, at the same time, Williams et Alpha Tauri scored more points. Like the other rounds of this year 2023, the A523 is still a car with random performances, very dependent on the plots.

“It was an overall tricky and challenging weekend in Mexico, underlines Esteban Ocon. We came away with a point, which is probably about what we could have aimed for. We clearly saw some key areas for improvement during the week, particularly on Sunday in terms of racing and overtaking. »

Alpine, points to reassure yourself?

Arriving in Brazil, on the Interlagos circuit, the French team finds terrain which should be more favorable to it. In 2022, Alpine had scored 14 points, including 5th place in Fernando Alonso. Can the A arrow repeat this result in 2023? “It’s a traditional track with a fast, rolling layout that I really like and has hosted some great races in the past. This time it will be a Sprint, so it will be important to get everything under control from the start. We will work hard to have a good weekend and we hope to put on a great show for the Brazilian fans.”, in any case desires the Norman.

For this last Sprint round of the season, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will also have to ignore fatigue, for this third consecutive weekend of racing. “This triple meeting Austin-Mexico-São Paulo is very difficult for all of us in Formula 1. It's really intense, and two of these weekends have the Sprint format. To manage this intensity, I try to relax whenever I can. For example, I played a lot of golf, and not just in preparation for the Netflix Cup! », laughs number 10, author of his first podium in F1 in São Paulo in 2019.

Si Alpine has nothing to play for in the championship – its 6th place seems definitive – the French team will obviously be keen to end this disappointing season on a good note and prepare as best they can for 2024.

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