Fernando Alonso: “I think we are in a good position – I am optimistic”

Fernando Alonso felt it was a good day for the BWT Alpine F1 Team on Friday, with the Spaniard ending fifth fastest in the afternoon session at the Miami International Autodrome.

After ending twelfth in the morning session, which was all about learning about the track, the two-time World Champion was back on form in the afternoon and ended the day just four-tenths of a second off the best time of the day set by George Russell.

Alonso says it is now important to fine tune their car ahead of Saturday’s running, and he remains optimistic of a strong weekend for Alpine in Florida.

“It was a good day for us, learning the circuit and moving forward from the simulator laps to the real track,” said Alonso.  “There are always some differences, so today was all about understanding everything quickly.

“It’s an interesting track to drive and I think we had a clean Friday. There is a lot of data to analyse now, and you can see that there is a lot more to come for everybody.

“We need to keep fine tuning the car; we look fast again this weekend and I think we are in a good position – I am optimistic.” 

“It was a good day of learning” – Esteban Ocon

Team-mate Esteban Ocon also feels the team are showing signs of being competitive this weekend, but he knows the important sessions are still to come on Saturday and Sunday.

After ending fifteenth in the morning session on Friday, Ocon ended the afternoon in ninth, and he says it was an enjoyable day of learning the best way to attack the newest track on the FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar.

“After waiting so long for this race weekend and with all the hype, it’s finally great to be able to be on track and experiencing it all for real,” said Ocon.  “For us, it was a good day of learning on what is a brand-new track for everyone.

“We had a first taste of how the car would behave with the simulator work we did beforehand but, of course, with new data, we can now start to confirm and look deeper into some of the discussion points.

“The car seems competitive and moving in the right direction, which is good news, but it is tomorrow and Sunday that counts. There’s more to come.”

Esteban Ocon believes Alpine can be competitive across the Miami Grand Prix weekend – Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team