The Enstone team brought a major package of aerodynamic updates to the British GP, where Fernando Alonso finished fifth and Esteban Ocon was running eighth before being forced to retire due to a fuel pump problem.
In Austria, where the team brought another upgrade in the form of a rear wing, the Frenchman finished fifth. For his part, Alonso managed to come back to the last position that awards points, tenth, after starting from the bottom of the grid and making an extra pit stop due to a problem with his right front tire.
The team is currently fifth in the constructors’ world championship with 81 points, the same number as fourth-placed McLaren. Ocon hopes that, with a little more work, his team can hope to challenge Mercedes in the next few races.
“It’s very positive, and I’m very happy to see that the [upgrade package] we brought in at Silverstone made a big difference,” the Frenchman said when asked by Motorsport.com about the team’s recent comeback thanks to the upgrades.
“Now we can really see it. And yes, I hope the next [updates] will be that big. We still have to work to be able to compete against the Mercedes, because they are still too fast.”
“So if they can, if the team can bring more of this stuff, we’ll take advantage of it.”
Ocon noted at the Red Bull Ring that the Enstone-based outfit have yet to ensure the A522 is competitive on all types of track.
“We still have to work a little bit on the consistency aspect,” he said. “There were times when I felt like we didn’t necessarily have the pace that the car could offer. But the weekend in Austria was perfect in that respect.”
“So there are still things to learn to perform at that level consistently, but clearly this weekend we have optimized everything.”
The French driver acknowledged that recent reliability issues have been frustrating, with his Silverstone race ending in retirement and Alonso’s weekend in Austria compromised by failing to start the sprint race.
“I trust my team, obviously,” he said. “They are aware that these are problems that we cannot have if we want to score good points, but in the end, the car is showing performance.”
“And that was always the plan, we wanted a car that could perform, that could give good results, and reliability will come the more races we do,” explained Esteban Ocon.
Alpine director Otmar Szafnauer confirmed in Austria that the team will continue to make improvements taking into account the limits it implies on the cost cap.
“Yes, it’s very encouraging,” he said of the latest upgrade package. “We said at the beginning of this season that this is what this year is about.”
“The learning curve in the tunnel is still very steep, so you have to take advantage of that, continue to give the car performance. So we will continue to do it until we run out of money,” said the American.
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