Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have spoken positively about Alpine’s prospects for 2023 after testing the team’s new car for the first time at Silverstone this week.
Unlike other teams on the Formula 1 grid, the Anglo-French outfit elected to conduct an outing with its latest iteration of machinery before the official launch event, scheduled to take place in London on Thursday.
As per the regulations, Alpine was only entitled to complete up to 100km of running as part of a combined shakedown and filming day at the British venue, with Gasly and Ocon sharing the responsibility in the cockpit of the A523.
Speaking afterwards, both drivers were complimentary in their assessment of the baseline package that has been assembled back at the team’s two bases over the winter period.
“It’s not until you get back out on track in a Formula 1 car that you realise how much you miss it,” Ocon said after trialling the 2023 Alpine car for the first time.
“It was an honour to drive the A523 and experience first-hand all the hard work and improvements that have gone into this car. A big thank you to all the women and men at Viry and Enstone for reaching this milestone and seeing the car on track for the first time.
“The first lap is always a memorable one and I’m glad today went smoothly. We will show the A523 to the world this Thursday at the launch and also on track in Bahrain next week.”
After the departure of Fernando Alonso, Ocon will be partnered by Gasly at Alpine this year and the ex-Red Bull affiliate was similarly enthused about the handling of the new car.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to be driving again, especially in my new colours of Alpine,” Gasly stated.
“Today was about getting an initial feel for the car and it felt very good on the laps I drove. I know everyone at the team has worked tirelessly to develop the car over the winter and it’s a proud moment to drive it today and see everyone’s faces in the garage.
“I’m looking forward to the launch on Thursday and then learning even more about the car at testing,” the Frenchman added.
A trouble-free debut run for the A523 marked a positive opening step as Alpine aims to consolidate the fourth position it achieved in the Constructors’ championship last season and reduce the huge deficit to the top three teams.
The dynamic between its new all-French driver pairing of Gasly and Ocon for 2023 is set to make it one of the more interesting line-ups on the grid to track throughout the year, particularly when the two have a detailed history of not getting along cordially.
Alpine’s preparations for the new campaign will intensify next week when the Enstone outfit takes its new package to Bahrain for pre-season testing along with the other teams.
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