After a positive first day of running at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso believes that his BWT Alpine F1 team are once again set for ‘another competitive weekend’.
With Both Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris set to start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid, the fate of both Alpine and the McLaren F1 Team this weekend could very well lie with Daniel Ricciardo and Alonso as both team’s to continue to fight for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
A slow start in Free Practice One saw Alonso post the fourteenth fastest time of the session, over three seconds behind the fastest time set by fellow Spaniard, Carlos Sainz Jr.
However, the Enstone-based team started to show their hand in Free Practice two as Alonso managed to go seventh fastest in the afternoon session. Alpine are likely to take great confidence from Alonso managing to finish ahead of Ricciardo in the session two by over three tenths of a second.
Speaking after the day’s action, Alonso touched on what he described as a ‘fun Friday’ around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
“Firstly, it’s good to be back! Driving Formula 1 cars in Spa-Francorchamps always gives you adrenaline, so it was a fun Friday.
“The circuit changes are not too different to before, just with the safer run-off areas. We didn’t have stable weather conditions to test the tyres, so we still have a couple of things to assess tomorrow in Free Practice 3.
“The car feels quite good to drive here, so hopefully we should be in for another competitive weekend.”
Esteban Ocon: “As far as our Friday was concerned, it was not a straightforward day”
On the other side of the Alpine garage, Ocon experienced numerous setbacks across both practice sessions. A driveshaft issue in Free Practice one saw the Alpine driver limited to just five laps, with Ocon eventually setting the sixteenth fastest time of the session.
Another setback for the Frenchman was soon announced as new engine components for his A522 will see Ocon start Sunday’s Grand Prix towards the back of the grid.
With rain affecting Free Practice two, Ocon was unable to execute his and Alpine’s designated program for the session. Ocon would go on to set the sixteenth fastest time of the session once again.
Reflecting on today’s session, Ocon remained hopeful that there will be still be more to come from both him and his Alpine team this weekend.
“It’s great to be in the car again after the summer break and it’s always a nice feeling to drive this classic track,” said Ocon.
“As far as our Friday was concerned, it was not a straightforward day. We had a driveshaft issue early in Free Practice 1, so we missed most of the session and Free Practice 2 was disrupted with the weather so we couldn’t really execute a smooth programme.
“All in all, we definitely have work to do but we have gathered enough data today to work well ahead of tomorrow. There’s more to come from us.”
