Esteban Ocon believes Alpine is on the right track but has conceded that the squad is not yet where it needs to be in 2023.
Alpine set itself the pre-season gap of maintaining the fourth place it achieved in 2022 while closing the points deficit to Formula 1’s leading trio of teams.
So far in 2023 it has scored eight points across the opening two rounds to sit fifth in the standings, having been overhauled by the vastly-improved Aston Martin squad.
“We can see that we’re making steps in the right direction towards our goals, but it is also clear that we are not where we want to be right now,” said Ocon.
“I know the trackside team and everyone at the factories are working flat out to take the fight to our competitors further up the grid.
“We will keep working hard collectively to see where we can improve as every tenth of a second will be key this year.”
Ocon finished eighth in Saudi Arabia, with team-mate Pierre Gasly ninth, and is optimistic that Alpine can improve the potential of the A523 in Australia this weekend.
“We know what we need to do to close the gap in front,” said Ocon.
“There’s definitely still learning to be done, but we’ve debriefed together following the test and the first two races and we’ve clearly identified the areas where we need to improve.
“I was in Enstone last week on the simulator and I visited various departments. I’m pleased with what we have in our development plan with upgrades coming around the corner.
“Right now, we’re focused on this weekend as we head back to Melbourne where we aim to have another double points team result.”
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