This weekend’s French Grand Prix marks the home grand prix for the Alpine F1 Team and for Esteban Ocon.
Despite the team being based in the UK, Alpine is of course French making this weekend a very important one for the team and for Executive Director Marcin Budkowski, who knows the speciality of a home grand prix.
“A home race for every team is special. Alpine is a French brand with its headquarters in France, while the Formula 1 Team is primarily based in the UK, so we could even say we have two home races! It’s a pleasure to represent Alpine on France soil, especially in such a beautiful region, but there is also added attention on the team.
“There are more fans supporting us in the grandstands, VIPs and executives from the Renault Group and therefore the extra pressure to perform. Once the race weekend starts, though, every individual is focused on getting the most out of the car, the drivers and the whole Team as we do at every race.”
The French Grand Prix is making a return to the calendar this year back at Circuit Paul Ricard, with last year’s race being cancelled due to the pandemic. Budkowski highlights the more conventional style of the circuit as well as some modifications made to the car ahead of this weekend.
“Circuit Paul Ricard is a great circuit with some exciting combinations of slow, medium and high-speed corners as well as long straights that give opportunities to overtake. It’s a more conventional Formula 1 circuit than Monaco and Baku with the runoff areas and drivers able to push the limit without the risk of extreme consequences that we saw at the last two rounds.”
“Besides a few minor improvements to the car, we’ve had to make some modifications to our rear wing, in line with the new technical directive issued by the FIA.”
