The BWT Alpine F1 Team unleashed their special pink livery on the second day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, with Frenchman Esteban Ocon behind the wheel for the entire day.
Ocon enjoyed Alpine’s best day of pre-season testing so far, completing an impressive 111 laps, with the best of those being a 1:34.276, fifth best of the day.
Ocon was very pleased with the progress made with the A522, on what was by far the team’s best day of pre-season so far.
“Today was our best day of pre-season testing so far with very good progress made and good understanding gained on the A522. We ran through a busy programme pretty much to plan, which is very important at this stage of the test. It’s been solid and I’m happy with the work completed today.
“The next time I’m in the car will be next Friday for the first Practice session of the season. This is when it all really counts so I’m looking forward to doing it all for real. Hopefully Fernando can continue the good work tomorrow and finish our preparations for the season as best as possible.”
“Today was our best day this winter” – Alpine’s Alan Permane
Alpine’s Sporting Director Alan Permane was also convinced that the second day of testing was the team’s best so far, where they found what they believe to be some impressive pace. Fernando Alonso will be behind the wheel on the final day.
“I would say today was our best day this winter, with Esteban completing 111 laps in total from the morning and the afternoon running. We also managed to find some decent pace after investigating the car setup yesterday and Esteban was much happier with the balance. The conditions were also quite challenging with the hot and windy weather.
“It should be a step cooler tomorrow, but it’s the same for everybody and we’ve got to be prepared to deal with any conditions next weekend. Ultimately, we are pleased with the overall mileage that we’ve achieved and the car ran well all day. We look forward to the final day of testing tomorrow with Fernando back in the car.”