Alpine hoping to unlock A523’s potential at ‘unforgiving’ Saudi Arabian GP

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal of the BWT Alpine F1 Team is hoping that his side can further unlock the A523’s potential this weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after enduring a mixed start to the season in Bahrain.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was a very challenging one for the Enstone-based team, with Pierre Gasly having scored points in eighth despite having started last, whilst Esteban Ocon retired after accumulating twenty-seconds worth of penalties. More was certainly on the cards for Alpine in Bahrain, with the French side having shown “very strong race pace”.

Reflecting on the season-opener, Szafnauer believes his side certainly have “work ahead of us”, in a bid to discover what the A523’s “maximum” is.

“We left Bahrain with mixed feelings. On one side, we were satisfied to come away with points given Pierre raced from the back of the grid to ninth place and his drive required good decisions, a well-executed strategy and strong race pace; all of which we showed. On the other side, we made too many mistakes across the weekend, and we can all do a better job to improve on those.

“I believe Esteban’s race was a one-off, a culmination of a string of errors, some on his side, some operationally, and his side of the garage will undoubtedly bounce back in Saudi Arabia. Right now, we know the A523 has potential. We just have not exploited everything to the maximum yet and there’s work ahead of us to achieve that. It’s a long season, we’ve opened up with points and we must keep pushing as a team.”

Heading into this weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP, Szafnauer is aware that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit can be very “unforgiving”, given that it is the fastest street circuit on the calendar. Despite how challenging the venue is, Alpine do boast a strong track record, with Ocon having never finished lower than sixth. Gasly, too, has gone very well in Saudi Arabia in the past for Scuderia AlphaTauri, suggesting that this weekend could be a strong one for the French duo.

Some track changes have been made ahead of the weekend to “improve visibility” meaning there will be plenty of feedback from the drivers in the opening practice sessions, with Szafnauer recognising that it’s “important to understand” how the drivers feel about the circuit modifications.

“The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is certainly exciting for the drivers. It’s fast, little time to rest, unforgiving in places and probably the most thrilling street circuit on the calendar. It’s mainly medium to high-speed and a completely different challenge to Bahrain, so it will be interesting to see the cars on a different circuit and seeing where we stand. There have been some changes to Jeddah this year to improve visibility for drivers on track, so it will be important to understand the drivers’ feedback on those changes.”