Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon had a fairly quiet first week of pre-season testing in Barcelona, as their program was interrupted by a hydraulic system failure on the final day.
But while the team never came close to the fastest times, Alpine believes a combination of factors meant its true potential never came to light. One of the keys was the decision not to use the DRS , which translates into about seven tenths per lap, in addition to the fact that the team chose to load the fuel tank more than normal.
Having found a good setup on the car on the last morning, which helped Alonso to make his fastest lap, the roadmap changed completely after the fire that came from a broken hydraulic line.
The French’s sporting director, Alan Permane , explained that DRS and fuel slowed their climb up the timesheets, but acknowledged that Alpine enjoyed a better week than it appeared from the outside.
“I don’t want it to sound like I’m making excuses, and I’m not saying we’re going to beat Mercedes and Red Bull, but I think we’re in a decent position,” he said.
“The lap Fernando did [in the morning before the A522 said ‘enough’], even though it was just one lap, can be compared to the one [Max] Verstappen did at the same time, even though the Red Bull guy was using the DRS,” he continued.
“If you pay attention to the GPS, something we can do with the FIA systems, the sectors are almost identical, except on the straights, where we lose a lot of time,” he said. “Fernando was very happy with the car, we have found some important things in the setup overnight, and we have controlled the rear of the car.”
“If we had put another C3 tire (on a scale from C1 to C5, with the latter being the softest), at that point, it was going to be another three or four tenths, and then you would be very close.”
“I do not want to say that everything is fine and that we are calm. Of course, we are worried, but in no way are we going to be at the bottom of the time table,” continued Permane. “My feeling is that we are probably a little bit closer to the front than we were at the end of last year.
Alpine ‘s decision not to use DRS was made on day one, and was due to some concerns about downforce at high speed. The team does not fear that the problem will be solved in time for the Bahrain tests, which take place from 10 to 12 March.
“It was something in the car, and we were not comfortable. I will be honest, it is related to the top speed, so it is a load issue, we were just cautious,” added the sporting director.
“It’s not that we can’t do it or that we’re scared by something that we think is going to break, we’re just being cautious. We’re not going to take any chances, we’ll take the opportunity to put in the miles and get to Bahrain with everything ready.”
“It’s a shame because it’s a huge performance gain, it’s over seven tenths a lap for us here (in Barcelona). So it’s a big part of the lap, but that’s where we are.”
