Alpine will bring new elements to Austria
Alpine should bring a new front wing to Austria. With this improvement, the French team hopes to raise their level and be competitive both in qualifying and in the race.
The fifth team of the Alpine championship is expected to bring a new part for the Austrian Grand Prix. The French team will bring a new front wing to the Red Bull Ring. According to the team boss, Otmar Szafnauer, the performance on a single lap is good. Now, we have to work to reach a similar level in races and qualifications. We’re not there yet, but we’re close.
The Enstone and Viry-Chatillon-based team has chosen, like last season, a different strategy from other teams. Our strategy is to constantly bring updates, with a high frequency, when we find something that can work. We don’t wait to implement big packages of innovations. So that’s what we’re doing. Then, you will be able to see other innovations coming in the upcoming Grand Prix, explains Otmar Szafnauer.
Alpine comfortably in Austria
For the boss of the French team, taking a part to Austria is a gamble: « We will bring the new wing to Austria and we will take a risk, because we will only have the first free practice session to test it. But the Red Bull Ring is a track where the A523 should fit well. I think we will do well in Austria. »
For now, Alpine shows a big difference between the pace in a qualifying lap and the race pace. « It’s encouraging to see that the car responds well in the flying lap […] But now, we need to work to try to bring the race pace to more or less the same level as the performances we can achieve in the flying lap. »
Although a top 4 has already emerged, Alpine is still striving to secure fourth place in the championship at the end of the season. Currently, the cars driven by the Frenchmen Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are in fifth position in the constructors’ championship, trailing Ferrari by 78 points.
