Going into the 2023 season, Alpine is still the big variable on the board. The French garage was carrying out some discreet pre-season tests. The first two free practice sessions in Bahrain for the first race weekend of the season were promising, but less brilliant than Aston Martin and an incisive Fernando Alonso. However, Alpine’s objectives are clear: maintain their fourth place in the Manufacturers’ category, and even reduce the gap with the leading trio… which, at the rate that the AMR23 is going around, could become a foursome.

The two alpine runners ready for qualifying

But the two French drivers remain confident: “After intense pre-season tests, I am satisfied with how this first Friday of the season wentwelcomes Esteban Ocon. We saw today that the car has improved in performance since testing and we have a clearer view of the improvements that need to be made. Everything is going in the right direction and we will discuss at length tonight how we can prepare for a strong qualifying for this first of the year. There is more to come from us and I feel ready. »

The same story on the side of his teammate, the defector from the Red Bull house Pierre Gasly. The latter, which debuted in the Enstone stable (United Kingdom), is “extremely satisfied” of your Friday: “We have completed a busy program and now have a clear idea of ​​the set-up in the conditions we expect for the rest of the weekend. I would say that we were much more comfortable in FP2 with a good feeling behind the wheel. There is more to come from us and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s qualifying. »

After a first session on Friday morning in which the two pink cars concentrated on long runs on medium tyres, the fastest lap simulations only started at the start of Free Practice 2. A more important session because it offers the driver a better appreciation of track conditions for qualifying and the race. Gasly finished in 7th position in 1’31”475, when Ocon was 11th.

“We are reasonably satisfied with our Friday”

“We are reasonably satisfied with our first free practice on Friday of the season, adds Pat Fry, CTO at Arrow A. Our main objective was to continue to learn more about our car in conditions representative of what we are likely to expect for the rest of the weekend. We spent a lot of time working on what we learned last week and identifying a good direction for the setup. It will be very useful to us tomorrow and Sunday. »

“Free Practice 1 was difficult in the hot conditions, but I am happy with our improvements for Free Practice 2, continues the British engineer, where ambient and track temperatures were noticeably cooler. However, we still have work to do and certainly have more to spare. Our updates worked according to our expectations, so a big thank you to the whole team for their tireless efforts in the two weeks leading up to this first race. »

Alpine seems to have other cards to put on the table. Enough to compete with Aston Martin, which seems to be pushing itself into the front group, or a bewildered Mercedes team? Response of the first qualifications of the 2023 campaign, at 4:00 p.m. (French time) this Saturday, to follow the text live on AUTOhebdo.

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