Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer: “We’re all feeling ready for the racing to begin next weekend”

Otmar Szafnauer says the BWT Alpine F1 Team are feeling ready for the start of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season after three positive days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Szafnauer, the Team Principal of the Enstone-based outfit, was pleased with the three days of running in Bahrain, with Esteban Ocon and new signing Pierre Gasly both putting in consistent performances.

The team stuck to its plan rather than looking for sensationalist lap times across all three days, and Szafnauer reckons it was good to get as much running as they did so to prepare for the new season in the best possible manner.

And going into next Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, the American hopes that his new driver pairing can start the year on a positive note and bring home a good haul of points.

“Today marked the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain and we’re all feeling ready for the racing to begin next weekend,” said Szafnauer.  

“In conclusion, it’s been a very consistent and conservative pre-season test for the team where we’ve remained committed to our programme to ensure we are as best prepared as we can be for the season ahead.

“Of course, as is common in pre-season testing, we had some small hindrances at times, but this is the reason for testing to allow us to learn about our package.

“Esteban and Pierre have worked tremendously with the team and we’ll continue our hard work between now and Friday to make sure we’re in a good position to begin our 2023 season on a positive note.”