From next week we start to get serious. Formula 1 is preparing to restart with the 2023 season. Before the green light in Bahrain, the unmissable tests will be from 23 to 25 February, to already have the first considerations on the cars.
Alpine, it will be a “French” vintage
A lot of attention, in addition to the top teams, will be paid to the Alpine. For the French team it was a very particular 2022, characterized by the excellent fourth brought home in the builders, until the break with Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri. The choice of Alpine in the end fell on Pierre gasly, forming an all-French team together with Esteban Ocon. For Gasly it will be a great opportunity to try to re-emerge after a bad year in AlphaTauri, characterized by many problems, primarily the feeling with the car.
Gasly: "I want continuity"
It won't be easy to keep up with Ocon, but Gasly feels more than ready.
“Looking forward to the next phase of my career, I am eager to discover the potential and value of the A523 in testing in Bahrain. Testing last year's car and seeing the developments the team has made on this year's car makes me enthusiastic. I saw the dedication that the whole team put into it, it's really nice. I look forward to helping the team achieve its 2023 goals.”
Szafnauer: "I have clear ideas"
Gasly seeks continuity, the same that team principal Szafnaeur wants who, to the question regarding the possible challenge with McLaren e Aston Martin for fourth place, he responded by setting very clear (and important) objectives.
“I want to beat all teams, not just some. What I want to do is focus on the things we can control, both in terms of developing our car and powertrain and aerodynamic development. We do the best job we can and see what happens, but I don't think we focus on beating one or two teams. We have to try to beat them all."
First goal achieved
The most important news for Alpine comes from the car. Thursday evening, the French team presented the new A523, which has already done its job shakedown at Silverstone. The most important news, considering that we are only at the beginning of the season, concerns the weight. According to Technical Director Matt Harman, the Alpine managed to get within the minimum weight of 798kg. The lighter a car is, within the minimum weight, the more performing it will be.
"We have been on a very aggressive weight reduction program. We will have ballast in the car and Harman said. we will move it to optimize weight distribution, which is a fantastic performance tool for us and our trackside engineering teams".
STATEMENT SOURCE: TuttoSport, FormulaPassion
