Alpine posted its best performance of the season at Spa with fifth place for Fernando Alonso and seventh for Esteban Ocon. The structure wants to be up again at Zandvoort, a very different circuit from the Belgian track.
The Belgian GP was the best joint performance of the Alpine team so far this season. Fernando Alonso finished in fifth position after the final penalty against Charles Leclerc, while Esteban Ocon was seventh after starting the race at Spa in sixteenth position and starring in a beautiful overtaking. With sixteen points in the ‘bag’, the French squad faces the Netherlands GPsecond of the three consecutive appointments that Formula 1 faces.
Although the transition from one track to another is not easy, Otmar Szafnauer as team manager has highlighted the great work done in Belgium: «Spa was a very good race for the team. I was pleased by the collective effort of the team and the displays of work and togetherness throughout the weekend. Both drivers did an outstanding job. Both showed speed and dexterity».
Zandvoort is a great, undulating, fast and flowing circuit that requires great concentration and commitment
In this line, Szfanauer has also highlighted the good work of the team in the pits, an area in which the Alpine team has made a great effort to improve: «We had the fastest pit stop of the race at Spa. It’s a fantastic achievement, I can only congratulate the boys for it. It is an area that has been the subject of very hard work. We are going to continue working to ensure more consistency to this important work.”
Looking at Zandvoort, the Alpine skipper sets his sights on continue the streak which has led Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon to score points in the last four races, a record that could reach seven races were it not for the Frenchman’s abandonment in the United Kingdom: “Our goal is to be back in the fight for points and seek a similar result, if not better, than that achieved in Belgium. We want to extend our lead in fourth place in the constructors’ standings».
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Impulse and memories
Fernando Alonso He comes from achieving his best result of the season in Spa after emulating the fifth place in Silvestone. For his part, Esteban Ocon had one of the strongest races of the year. After the scheduled change of power unit and the corresponding penalty, the French driver climbed from sixteenth to seventh place.
Satisfied with his performance at Spa, Stephen Ocon wants more: «Spa was one of the best weekends we’ve had as a team. We got some good points with both cars in the top ten. Spa is a very special place, so we left Belgium satisfied. Now the focus completely changes to the next race and we have to ensure that this momentum serves us during the Dutch GP weekend.
Although the Dutch GP returned to Zandvoort and to the Formula 1 calendar in 2021, Ocon has previous experience on the Dutch track: «I raced there in the DTM in 2016, so I know the circuit and I really enjoy it. The contrast between Zandvoor and Spa is huge. We went from a track with a long and very fast lap to a much shorter track with many curves. It’s a great circuit, undulating, fast and fluid It requires great concentration and commitment.”
Although Zandvoort has many special ‘corners’, Ocon says that one of the most exciting spots is “the bank at the end of the lap, is always fun. It doesn’t look like any other Formula 1 corner, it’s special. It is a narrow track that does not facilitate overtaking. The Frenchman finally concludes: «The grid position will be very important. The goal is to have a good weekend and maintain our run of points to consolidate fourth position in the championship».
Photos: Alpine F1