Alpine arrives in Baku with a small evolution
The Alpine engineers had a busy week in Enstone to bring an evolution to the A521, and bounce back after a disappointing Monaco Grand Prix.
After the Monaco Grand Prix, during which Alpine only scored two small points, the French team hopes to achieve a good result this weekend in Baku.
For this, the team will introduce an evolution on its car in Azerbaijan:
We have seen a small evolution, in accordance with our development plan. Therefore, the week has been busy at the factory to ensure that everything is ready, said Marcin Budkowski, team’s executive director.
The objective of the Enstone team is to return to the front positions and avoid the problems encountered in Monaco in order to score very big points in the championship. All of this in the fight for 5th place in the constructors’ standings.
« In parallel, we have conducted thorough analyses and simulations to make sure that when we arrive in Baku, we have understood our issues in Monaco as best as possible and that they no longer affect us. We have already attended very heated debates in Baku, so it will be important to know how to take advantage of the race facts to capitalize on them. The goal is to be as close to the front runners as possible to take advantage of any trouble ahead. »
As for him, Esteban Ocon is pleased to rediscover a very unusual circuit where anything can happen. However, the Frenchman will have to get his bearings again and adapt to the layout on which he has not raced since 2018.
For Fernando Alonso, finding a track conducive to overtaking is an advantage for him. The Spaniard managed to score points in the last two races on this circuit, despite starting beyond the 10th position:
« I qualified outside the top 10 in my last two races here, but I still finished in the points. This shows that anything can happen in what is usually a very unpredictable weekend. The circuit has several facets. The priority is the top speed, but the middle sector depends more on downforce and mechanical grip. It’s tough for both machines and men, and it will be crucial to find the right balance with the settings.
Anything can happen in what is usually a very unpredictable weekend. – Fernando Alonso
