Alpine, the facts to sweep away the controversy
After the pre-season tests and a difficult period in terms of managing the new line-up, theAlpine can finally put it all behind with the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prixan event that will mark the beginning of the 2023 world championship. The French team, which finished 4th in the last Constructors’ standings, will take advantage of this appointment to settle the tensions experienced between mid-2022 and the beginning of this year, starting with what happened with the ‘Piastri case’. The Australian, initially made official by the Enstone house after Fernando Alonso’s unexpected move to Aston Martin, had blatantly denied this agreement with his signature on the McLaren contract. A controversy that went on for almost the entire second half of the season, and concluded with the ‘green light’ from the FIA on the transfer of the F3 and F2 champion.
Gasly’s debut
At that point, the team had decided to focus on another ideal profile for the upcoming world championship, hiring the compatriot Pierre Gasly and creating an all ‘blue’ team. For the former AlphaTauri, however, landing in the team was not the easiest, above all due to a new teammate like Esteban Ocon, with whom a strong rivalry had arisen in the minor categories. After weeks spent denying any kind of tension between the two, the time has now come for the winner of the 2020 Italian GP to be able to express himself on the track, with an ever closer official debut: “I’m very excited to race for the first time with Alpine this weekend in Bahrain – commented – ever since my first December test with the team in Abu Dhabi, I have been looking forward to this moment, and now it’s almost here. I’m preparing for the race weekend in the best possible way and I’m already looking forward to doing the first qualifying laps with the A523 before battling it out in the race on Sunday. I know it will take some time to get familiar with the team and the car, but at the moment I am very confident that we can have a strong race here in Bahrain and the goal is to bring home some points and start the season in the best way”.
Ocon’s words
One of the few pre-season certainties was therefore that of the confirmation of Esteban Oconalso very excited for the start of this world championship, the fourth at the wheel of the Alpine (in 2020 known as Renault): “I feel great and I’m very excited to be back in the car for a Grand Prix weekend – he added – The winter has been long and busy and we are all eager to get back into race mode and see what the A523 can do on track. We had the last few days to relax and prepare here in Bahrain after the test, so I feel fresh and ready to start the 2023 season on a positive note. Even after the test there was a lot to think about and analyze, so it was a week of learning for everyone, to try and become even more familiar with this year’s car”.
Szafnauer’s ‘new’ adventure
Comments that finally also came from the team principal Otmar Szafnauerwho after a 2022 experience as a ‘rookie’ in Alpine is now ready for a new type of experience: “All team members are ready to race this weekend – commented – it was a very busy off-season, with a lot of work in our Viry and Enstone factories to keep finding improvements and developing our complete package. We know this 23-race season is a long one and that it matters where you finish it, not where you start it. We will know where we stand on Sunday evening and we have a clear game plan – a solid blueprint – for the year ahead and we will focus on ourselves to make sure we achieve our targets. In Bahrain, we will be rolling out the first update of the season and we can’t wait to see what it holds. Esteban and Pierre are both raring to go and the aim for them is to bring home points to start our campaign in a positive way.”
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