Among the teams and drivers who came out of the Turkish Grand Prix with little or no satisfaction, there is no shortage ofAlpine and Fernando Alonso, protagonists of a weekend in Istanbul definitely not up to their potential. In any case, the French team will be able to take the opportunity to recover starting from the next appointment, scheduled for this weekend at Austin for the United States Grand Prix. The seventeenth round of the world championship presents itself with the transalpine team in fifth place in the constructors’ classification, with 128.5 points from fourth place – occupied by Ferrari – and only 12 points clear of the AlphaTauri, also a protagonist, like the Alpine, in any case a positive season. All this six races from the conclusion of the 2021 championship, characterized by the victory won by Esteban Ocon in the Hungarian Grand Prix, in what was also the first success in the top flight of the 25-year-old from Evreux.
Speaking of number 31, Ocon was also the protagonist of a real feat in the last GP in Turkey, finished in tenth place – and therefore in the points – without ever having made a pit stop. Two weeks from Istanbul, the Frenchman is ready for the great return of F1 on the Circuit of the Americas, last year absent from the calendar for the Covid-19 emergency: “I really like Austin and can’t wait to race here – he has declared – personally it’s the first time since 2018, so I’m pretty excited. Austin is like it’s a circuit that it contains the characteristics of several different tracks in one: after the characteristic uphill turn 1, the immediately following sections recall Suzuka or the Maggots-Becketts of Silverstone. Then there is the long straight before a narrower section, which resembles the final sector in Mexico. It is a really nice circuit – concluded Ocon – there are fast corners and it allows you to overcome or engage wheel-to-wheel duels ”.
As for the French driver, too Fernando Alonso is about to return to Austin after his last race in 2018, which coincided with his last year in F1 before returning this season: “It has always been fun to race in the United States, plus I love the Austin circuit – commented the two-time world champion – And one of the most demanding slopes on the calendar, with each sector always tackled differently lap after lap. The characteristic of this track is that it allows the car to evolve during the lap, and therefore forces the driver to push on the accelerator continuously. It also grants overtaking opportunities, which is good. In addition, Austin is always guaranteed a great atmosphere, and it’s also a great city to visit. We’ll see if our package turns out to be competitive – he added – and I hope that this time there will be a drier weekend ”.
The appointment in the United States will therefore be essential to maintain the fifth position in the constructors’ championship and to attempt the extension on the AlphaTauri in the final stages of the season. This is an objective underlined by the Executive Director of the Alpine Marcin Budkowski: “It is a battle that has continued since the beginning of the championship – commented the Polish engineer – and there have been ups and downs throughout the season. After Turkey, we still feel we have built up a good points lead, but it is still too early to feel safe. The gap is too small, and we will therefore have to constantly score points at each race in order to increase the distance. No doubt it will be a tightrope fight – he concluded – but we have a good time and we are ready for the challenge ”.
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