“We Are Very, Very Excited”- Fernando Alonso Signals Big Developments at Alpine F1

Alpine’s F1 journey did not start off on the best note at the first two rounds of the season. Unfortunately, the team seemed to regress in performance that Renault made last season. However, a quick, sort of, ‘too good to be true’ turnaround has left their drivers, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, very impressed.

Both the Alpine drivers finished inside the top 10 in Portimao. However, that result could have been taken as an anomaly, as the conditions there were unique.

But, coming to a more traditional Barcelona track that has a more typical surface with a combination of high, medium, and low-speed corners, both of their cars made it to the final qualifying session for the first time this season.

Hence, it proved that their gigantic leap in performance at the Portuguese GP wasn’t a fluke. And they are excitedly looking forward to the next F1 races.

“I think the Alpine now is in the mix, with Ferrari and McLaren. So that’s a very positive trend with what we see now in the team, and we are very, very excited for the next couple of races,” said Alonso.

“But we need to remain cautious, and really confirm it. Because, as I said, Bahrain and Imola compared to Portugal and Barcelona, it seems maybe too good to be true. But obviously it is true, because both cars were in Q3 and Esteban was sixth in Portugal and fifth here, so this is good news.”

Esteban Ocon agrees with Fernando Alonso on Barcelona ‘confirmation’

Ocon, who qualified in fifth space on Saturday in Spain, is in agreement with Alonso about the definite progress made by their car.

“I am very pleased that we have the confirmation that it is working like we want and we have the pace to be in the top five. It is a great job by everybody in Viry and Enstone, to keep digging, keeping on searching. And here it’s been paying off again like Portimao, but even better I would say.”

These are positive times for the French outfit. Just when it was looking like that they were going to disappoint this season, they have hit back. Under Luca de Meo’s leadership, it is also a signal that they can truly prepare machinery capable of launching an assault on the title next season, with the impending technical regulation changes.

Read More: Why Did Renault F1 Change Its Name To Become Alpine Racing Team?