Alpine started the season with ups and downs, coming to fight for the first position at times, such as in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso, and being far from race pace at other times, such as at Imola.
However, the French do not stop working to close that big gap with respect to the two absolute dominators at the start of 2022, Ferrari and Red Bull. The Enstone team introduced an update to the A522 background in the Asturian two-time champion’s background, but the contact with Mick Schumacher and his subsequent abandonment as soon as the last round of the calendar began, caused them to not be able to gather much data.
With the arrival of the new Miami Grand Prix, Alpine hopes to reverse the situation that places them in sixth place in the constructors’ standings with only 22 points, and they will fit this improved specification of the floor in Esteban Ocon’s car.
The Gallic driver will have this piece, and will be on equal terms with his Spanish teammate on a track that, in principle, will benefit the duo due to the characteristics of the single-seater, they adapt well.
“At Imola, the novelty worked as expected,” said team boss Otmar Szafnauer ahead of the Florida round. “This is a great sign that our hard work is paying off, so the modified fund, which previously only belonged to Fernando [Alonso], will go to both of them.”
“Although Fernando’s car was badly damaged in the accident on the first lap, we were able to make the necessary repairs,” Alpine’s chief executive said. “It’s great to have new elements, this will certainly affect the speed, and in the next races we are expecting more improvements.”
“As we’ve seen in previous grands prix, our low-fuel pace is pretty good, but the points are on Sunday, so we just need to do well in qualifying, but round everything out,” Szafnauer said.
To try and improve their performances in this 2022 season, Alpine is clear on what they need to do: “The team is working hard to understand our abilities and also improve the race pace with the help of the set-up.”
“In addition, we must look for ways to work with the tires in a different way, but it is key to find the speed on Sunday without losing qualifying,” concluded the boss of the French.
