The start of the 2024 F1 season has been rather difficult for Alpine.
Their challenger, the A524, arrived overweight and there were worrying signs from pre-season testing in Bahrain, with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly starting the season poorly and Alpine failing to finish in the points in the first five races.
But slowly Alpine made progress. Upgrades to the A524 reduced weight and improved performance, and Ocon’s 10th place at the Miami Grand Prix earned the team its first points of the year. Gasly’s 10th place in Monaco doubled the points, but a collision between teammates on the opening lap caused tensions on track and in the paddock. And in recent weeks Alpine has scored double points in succession.
Can they take another step forward this weekend in Austria?
Speaking to the team, you can tell they believe they can do it.
“Coming back from Barcelona I’m very happy with three consecutive points. Even though the points are small, it was a good performance over three races where we were able to improve the whole package even without making any updates to the car,” Gasly said during the team preview for the Austrian Grand Prix. “With the championship fight getting fierce, every point we get by the end of the year will be important, so we have to keep pushing to continue this form.”
“Obviously it was a bit disappointing not to be eighth on Sunday, but being able to fight with the Red Bulls until the last lap shows that our level has improved so I’m happy.”
Ocon praised the team’s performance throughout the week.
“It was encouraging to have a good weekend in Barcelona, finishing 10th again and adding some important points to the constructors’ championship,” said Ocon. “The car was relatively competitive from the start of the weekend and I performed well throughout qualifying to get into Q3.”
However, both drivers pointed out the difficulties of the Austrian Grand Prix – not only is the track small, every millisecond counts, but it’s also an F1 sprint weekend so there’s no time to waste.
“The track itself is short, so the field is usually close and every hundredth, every thousandth of a second counts,” Ocon said. “We have to get the high-speed balance right. Our aim is to continue the positive trend, which means setting our sights on Q3 again and of course scoring some valuable points.”
Gasly highlighted both the layout pitfalls and the schedule that teams face this weekend.
“Triple-headers are always difficult. After Barcelona we go straight to Austria for a busy sprint weekend. Spielberg is a short track, the shortest lap time of the year and with only nine corners. It’s a difficult track with a lot of kerbs, hard braking zones and high-speed corners,” said Gasly. “Austria has always been a very good event, with a good atmosphere and it’s a place where I’ve always enjoyed racing. We need to take what we learned in Barcelona and apply it this weekend, especially the high-speed performance and balance.”
“It’s a sprint, so we need to get on the pace quickly and put ourselves in a position to compete in both races.”
The first step towards Alpine’s continued success begins on Friday.
