Alpine crisis
At the end of the Austrian Grand Prix – just over three weeks ago – theAlpine was in fifth place in the constructors’ championship, 18 points ahead of the McLaren Mercedes. Certainly the French team could not have imagined that in the space of two grands prix it would have remained stationary at an altitude of 47 and of being overtaken and almost doubled by the English team, now at +40. The sensational step forward by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri was impressive and demonstrates that, with a correct development plan, it is possible to get back on top, which is what the Alpine has been trying to do for several seasons.
Certainly then, the possible intervention on the power units to be evaluated during the F1 Commission scheduled in Belgium, precisely to lend a hand to the Renault propeller, credited with 20-30 horsepower less than the competition formed by Honda, Ferrari and Mercedes. A deficit which, with the current rules, would not be recoverable until the end of 2025.
Finally, there was no lack of bad luck, with the accident at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, where a rear-end collision generated by Guanyu Zhou’s Alfa Romeo knocked out the guilty Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. The Spa-Francorchamps track could offer the team the opportunity to at least return to the points, on a track where in 2022 Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Esteban Ocon seventh.
The words of Ocon and Gasly in view of Belgium
Esteban Ocon: “The double retreat on Sunday was very frustrating for the whole team, especially in the very first bars. There wasn’t much Pierre or I could do and we have no choice but to move forward and focus on this weekend, where we hope to recover quickly. Despite the significant impact, I feel good physically and I’m very motivated for the race in Belgium. Given the Sprint format this weekend, we have a chance to score points on both Saturday and Sunday, so we’ll do everything we can to maximize our opportunities.”
Pierre Gasly: “As a team, it’s important to stick together, keep your head down and keep working hard to get better results. This weekend we will have an update and hopefully it all goes to plan and brings the performance improvement we need to the car. It’s another Sprint weekend, offering more opportunities to score points. The aim is a solid practice session before moving on to qualifying on Friday evening. I’m even more determined to get a good result over the weekend before the summer break.”
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