And two Alpines in the points! The A523 does not reach the level of the single-seaters of the top teams, but continues to achieve good results. Following Pierre Gasly’s rise from last to ninth in Bahrain, the Rouen driver achieved an identical result in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from the same ninth grid position.
His teammate Esteban Ocon for his part was in a promising sixth position before the lights went out and eventually finished eighth. The Ébroïcien was powerless against Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari, but Alpine is clearly ahead of his direct rivals. Under the checkered flag, Ocon was ten seconds behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, while Gasly was ten seconds ahead of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
“It was the maximum we could do, I think”says Ocon at the Canal+ microphone. “We were in management mode at the back, because at the front it was too fast, at the back we went anyway. We were a bit alone, me and Pierre, during this race it was a bit sad.”
“We thought in the beginning, the Ferraris, we could have hooked them in the first stint. We managed to hang on a little bit, also in the second stint. At the very beginning, we managed to keep the pace to hold on.” Flying ahead There is not much more we could have done, I think the maximum has been done today. BEE us to work and bridge that gap for the future.”
Gasly also survived a touchdown with Oscar Piastri in the first round, which damaged the Australian’s front wing. “At the start you had to be aggressive, try to pass the McLaren as quickly as possible”explains the interested party to the French channel. “In retrospect I think we had a solid race, we finished where we should have finished with both cars. Second race in the points.”
“We are continuing to adapt to this new car. I think there are a lot of positives this weekend. I feel more and more comfortable with the car. There are things that can be improved. There is still work to be done. performance, we would would like to get closer to the cars in front of us, but I think we are at this point now.”
All in all, the words of the Alpine drivers are much more positive than after qualifying, when Esteban Ocon complained about a car that “move in all directions” while Pierre Gasly had lived “a nightmare”.